“Bobs” to his soldiers, the epitome of the Victorian officer, was awarded a Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny whilst only 26 years old, and is thought to be the possible inspiration for George Macdonald Fraser’s heroic ‘Flashman’ novels.
A serving soldier for more than fifty years, Lord Roberts rose through the ranks to become the head of the armed services and died during the Great War at the retreat from the Marne, aged 82.
This statue to commemorate the iconic hero of the British Empire was built by public subscription from the grateful people of Glasgow and unveiled in 1916. A national hero by the time he took Glasgow by storm on his first visit to the city in 1903, Roberts had recently subdued the Boers in South Africa and had already become a legend with his epic retreat from Khabul to Khandahar during the Afghan War of 1878.
This bronze equestrian statue shows Lord Roberts VC on his favourite Arab Charger ‘Volonel’. The statue is superimposed upon an elaborate granite pedestal and framing bronze bas reliefs featuring horse artillery and native cavalry, Highlanders, Gurkhas and Sikhs. Two bronze allegorical seated figures of War in ancient armour (south-east facing) and Victory seated on the prow of the Ship of State (north-west facing) complete the composition. Roberts’ African and Eastern campaigns are enumerated on the south face of the pedestal, and his decorations illustrated with bronze replicas, including his VC won during the Indian Mutiny, 1858.
This masterpiece is complemented by Bates’s triptych bronze Aeneid reliefs in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, which can be seen in the context of other New Sculpture by George Frampton, Derwent Wood and others in the Art Gallery.
Category ‘A’ Listed |