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Address Whitehall, Westminster, London SW1A 2NP, UK Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hours Similar Statue of the Viscount, Statue of the Earl Kitchener, Equestrian statue of the Duke, Statue of James Outram - L, Westminster Scholars War Mem | ||
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The Earl Haig Memorial is a bronze equestrian statue of the British Western Front commander Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig on Whitehall in Westminster. It was created by the sculptor Alfred Frank Hardiman and commissioned by Parliament in 1928. Eight years in the making, it aroused considerable controversy, the Field Marshal's riding position, his uniform, the anatomy and stance of the horse all drawing harsh criticism. The inscription on the statue base reads 'Field Marshal Earl Haig Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France 1915–1918'.
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History
Hardiman had won the commission in competition with his fellow sculptors Gilbert Ledward and William Macmillan. His winning model showed Haig riding a classical charger befitting a hero, derived from Hardiman's studies of renaissance equestrian sculpture. The Press and Lady Haig weighed in, asking why Earl Haig could not be portrayed with realism riding his own horse, Poperinghe. Eventually Hardiman was asked to produce a second model, but in trying to accommodate his critics the sculptor produced a compromise that pleased no-one. The design went back to Cabinet and they were persuaded to allow him a free hand in the execution of the full-sized statue, George Lansbury writing: "I feel confident that if your genius is unfettered you will give us a memorial worthy of the Field Marshal, the nation and yourself". The memorial was unveiled by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester on 10 November 1937, with King George VI laying a wreath at the base on Armistice Day.