The Russian Memorial

Slightly unusual for me to be in Lewes two evenings in a row but tonight we had a 'Photo club in the pub' meeting. I arrived early so nipped over to the churchyard of St John sub castro to take a photograph of the so-called Russian Memorial.

The Russian Memorial is an obelisk in the churchyard of St John sub Castro in Lewes. It was erected in 1877 (which may make it one of the oldest war memorials) at the behest of Alexander II, Emperor of Russia, in memory of 28 Finnish soldiers of the Russian Army who died while prisoners of war in Lewes between 1854 and 1856. The Finns had been captured in August 1854 when British and French forces captured the fortress of Bomarsund in the Åland Islands. The men were confined in the Lewes naval prison. Twenty-eight of the prisoners died and were buried in the nearby churchyard of St John sub castro. The memorial was erected at the behest of Tsar Alexander II in 1877. It takes the form of an octagonal drum and tabernacle with inscribed panels. It was restored by the Soviet Embassy in 1957.