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Date: 1921 - 1922 Type: Memorial Status: Extant

Transcriptions of the inscriptions on the north face of the base of monument [Translation from the Latin in square brackets] North East Elevation: Base of Shaft LHS: H CHRISTIE SMITH DELINEAVIT [H. Christie Smith Designer] RHS: M F CAMPBELL AEDIFICAVIT [M.F. Campbell Builder] North East Elevation: Inscription on left hand side of Plinth AUSPICANDO ADFUIT [Make a ceremonial start] DOUGLAS HAIG BRITANNOPUM DUX [Field Marshall] MENSE APRILI [Month of April] MCMXXI [1921] North East Elevation: Inscription on right hand side of Plinth PATEFACIENDO ADVENIT [Unveiled] HENRICUS LUKIN [Henry Lukin] LEGIONUM AFRICANORUM PRINCEP [Leader of the African Troops] MENSE AUGUSTUS [Month of August] MCMXXII [1922] Postscript: Field Marshall Douglas Haig was visiting South Africa in April 1921. Sir Henry Lukin had been in the Cape Mounted Rifles until its disbandment, commanded the SAMR in German SWA, and headed the 1st SA Brigade in Egypt, France and Belgium in WWI. He was also the first president of the British Empire Service League, which was responsible for fund raising for this memorial. The Annals of the Grahamstown Historical Society (2005, p.94) notes that : 'Through the auspices of the Bedford branch of the BESL funds were raised to erect a memorial to those men from Bedford and the district that lost their lives during the first world war. Field Marshal Earl Haigh (sic), travelling by train, stopped briefly for him to turn the first sod at nine o'clock p.m. in April 1920 (sic). Sir Henry Lukin unveiled the memorial in August 1922. After the Second World War, the names of the fallen were also inscribed on the memorial.' In a brief handwritten history of Bedford by EM Fitchat, (Cory Library document PR 3426) the following mention is made of the Memorial: 'There live in the town and district descendants of men and women who have played their part in making the history of the country and when the call came for them to serve their country they responded nobly, as will be seen by the names of those who made the supreme sacrifice engraved on the stately War Memorial in the centre of the town.' A genealogical query was received by the Cory Library in 2004 from Christie Smith's granddaughter in which she claimed that Harry Christie Smith was born at sea on the way to San Francisco where his father was Port Captain until killed in a harbour accident. The family returned to Scotland. He studied at the Royal College of Art in London and at the time of his second marriage at age 31, in Grahamstown Baptist Church to Clarice South, on 11 July 1908, he was a Government Drawing Instructor. Evidently there is an obituary in Grocott's Mail on 26/27 October 1923. It seems he changed his name from Smith to Christie-Smith due to postal mix-ups with another HC Smith. Information and translation of the Latin text provided by Liz de Wet of the Cory Library, Grahamstown, January 2014. Submitted by: William MARTINSON All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.