Great Western Railway War Memorial

The bronze figure you see standing on platform one is the work of Charles Sargeant Jagger, a sculptor who served on the Western Front and received the Military Cross for his service. Unlike many war memorials of the early twentieth century that favored heroic or allegorical figures, Jagger chose to depict a private soldier in his heavy winter coat, standing with his helmet pushed back, intently reading a letter from home. This realistic portrayal reflects Jagger's own experience of the war, grounding the monument in the quiet, personal struggle of the individual soldier rather than abstract glory.