Cavalry of the Empire Memorial

If you’ve ever enjoyed a morning stroll along the Serpentine Road in Hyde Park, you might have paused in front of a striking bronze monument: a medieval knight on horseback, sword raised high, triumphantly pinning a vanquished dragon to the earth.

This is the 'Cavalry of the Empire Memorial'. While it looks like a timeless piece of romantic folklore, its origins are deeply tied to the brutal reality of twentieth-century warfare, political architecture battles, and a changing London landscape.

Here is the story behind this hidden-in-plain-sight London landmark.

Born from the Ashes of the Great War

By 1919, the world had changed forever. The First World War had introduced industrialised slaughter, with machine guns, barbed wire, and poison gas, leaving the traditional military role of horse-mounted cavalry largely sidelined and obsolete on the Western Front.

Yet, the human cost to these units was devastating. Nearly 4,500 cavalrymen from across the British Empire were killed, and another 15,000 were wounded. In early 1920, a committee formed to create a monument to honour their sacrifice.

Cast from Captured Guns

The monument was sculpted by Captain Adrian Jones, a remarkably fitting choice. Before becoming a renowned sculptor, Jones had served for years as a veterinary officer in the British Army, deploying on active campaigns in Africa and India. His deep, practical understanding of horses shines through in the sculpture's incredible lifelike energy.

Jones chose an allegorical subject: St. George slaying the dragon, symbolising the triumph over tyranny. Look closely at the details:

• The Metal: The entire bronze equestrian statue was cast from enemy guns captured by cavalry regiments during the war.

• The Armour: St. George’s armour was meticulously modelled after a 1454 effigy of the Earl of Warwick.

• The Dragon: If you look closely at the dragon's face beneath the horse's hooves, Jones gave it a distinct, upturned Germanic moustache, a subtle, wartime political jab.

Around the base of the stone pedestal, a beautifully detailed bronze frieze depicts cavalrymen representing the global reach of the forces, including Australian Lighthorsemen and New Zealand Mounted Riflemen.

The Unveiling and a Missing Backdrop

The memorial was officially unveiled on May 21, 1924, by Field Marshal Lord Ypres and the Prince of Wales. However, if you visited it back then, it would have looked entirely different.

Originally, it stood further east at Stanhope Gate, right off Park Lane. It featured a massive, curved Portland stone classical backdrop designed by architect Sir John Burnet, which shielded the monument from the busy street. On this wall sat a massive bronze plaque listing 150 cavalry units from the UK, Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, and Pakistan.

So, what happened to it?

In 1960, London underwent a massive modernisation project to widen Park Lane into a dual carriageway. The memorial was directly in the way. In 1961, the entire monument was dismantled and moved 300 yards west to its current, quieter home near the Hyde Park bandstand. Sadly, the grand classical stone backdrop was completely scrapped during the move; instead, the original bronze unit plaques were remounted onto a simpler granite screen behind the statue.

The Legacy Today

Following the Second World War, the inscriptions were updated to honour those who fell between 1939 and 1945. Today, it holds a Grade II* listed status, protecting it as a major work of British historical art.

It also remains a living site of remembrance. On the first Sunday of May every year, serving soldiers, veterans, and Old Comrades Associations gather right here for "CavMem", Cavalry Memorial Day, ensuring that the memory of the riders and their mounts is never entirely lost to history.

So, the next time you pass by the Serpentine, take a moment to look past the medieval fantasy of St. George and remember the real history forged into its bronze.