1914 Monument

The 1914 Battle Memorial stands on Ross Road, to the west of Government House. 

It commemorates the Battle of the Falklands, fought between British and German fleets on 8 December 1914.   On that day, which is marked annually with a service at the memorial, and as a public holiday, the German East Asiatic Fleet, under Graf Maximilian von Spee (1861-1914) was narrowly defeated by a British Cruiser Squadron, commanded by Admiral Sturdee, later Admiral of the Fleet Sir Doveton Sturdee (1859-1927).  Von Spee and his two sons died in the action.  8 December is now marked as a public holiday on the islands, and a service held at the memorial.

A figure of Victory was designed in 1924 by the British sculptor, Frank Ransom (1874-1952), a disciple of the great Sir Alfred Gilbert, and an assistant to Sir George Frampton.  It faces to the east, looking out to sea to where the battle was fought.  Victory holds a palm branch in one hand and an orb in the other.  The foundations of Cornish granite blocks were laid in May 1926, and the monument officially unveiled in 1927.  It is believed to be the world’s most southerly memorial to the Great War.  

In 2014 the British and Germans united in a spirit of reconciliation 100 years after the battle.  Descendants not only of Admiral Sturdee but also of Admiral von Spee attended the dedication of this memorial, the Germans suggesting that it would be a good idea to have similar memorials in Germany to obtain a similar effect.  In December 2019 von Spee’s flagship, SMS Scharnhorst, was found off the Falklands.