Item on BBC news Hougoumont is being restored and turned into a museum . Part of the overall Hougoumont project is to erect a monument to the British soldiers who fought at Waterloo. There are monuments to each nation that took part in the battle, but until now there has never been a monument to the British Army. Planning permission has been obtained to erect a monument in the grounds of Hougoumont near the North Gate and we are now in the process of seeking design concepts for the monument http://www.projecthougoumont.com/introduction.html
Visited in 1978 with the regiment (SG) seeing the farm this am on the news shocked - it appears to have been neglected also note the diorama is still open. Climbed the 'mound' to view the field and did the Wellington HQ trip. https://archive.org/search.php?query=wellington dispatches British and Hanoverian Divisions and Regimental List - Waterloo: http://archive.org/stream/waterloorollcall00daltuoft#page/n5/mode/2up
I'm afraid that do not share your passion for to divert funds to what seems to be a chauvinistic memorial to "The British Army" My understanding of Project Hougount was to restore the derelict farm complex for heritage and educational purposes not to erect another bloody monument on the Battlefield of Waterloo. Preserving the buildings and restoring the gardens is a worthwhile major project deserving support.to find the C £2m of funding.. Begging for more to build another damn memorial seems to miss the point. If that is how you plan to use donations that I may rethink m,y support for the project. 1. There are dozens of memorials across the battlefield including many to different units in the British Army. Hougoumont itself already has several, inclunding the plaque to the Waggoners and the chapel. The restored building will be itself a monument. Behind it there are the pesg showing the positions of various RA and RHA batteries. The British memorial and tomb in the Brussels central cemetery is arguably THE British memorial and deserves to be more often included in itineraries as a place of Remembrance. 2. Hogoumont itself was defended by a mixture of British and German troops. It was the focus of the Guards action, but was not the centre of the British action nor a decisive point. . Is this really the best place for a "British" memorial? 3. The fashion for erecting monuments across battlefields is itself a form of dis-figuration. The Lion mound caused enough damage to the topography. They also distract. The battlefield becomes a memorial park.
I agree with Sheldrake on this. I cannot express it better than he. I do dislike obtrusive monuments, Disneyisation (?) etc. I approve of the restoration of Hougoumont but hope it will not become a theme park or the Waterloo Experience. I have been a Napoleonic and Waterloo fan for nearly sixty years and have a fine collection of Napoleonic figures. Mike
If you care to see the filmclip you learn that it IS the intention to restore the Hougemont buildings (except the Chapel that has already been restored by funds) and that Belgium is doubling the amount that comes in via this fundraising. The only "disfigurative" monument will probably be a plaquette with historic explanations and thank you's to the funders on a wall.
