Major-General Earle
Charles Bell Birch
1887
Bronze, on Darley Dale stone
South end of the east façade of St George's Hall, Liverpool
This wonderful "action-shot" of Major-General Earle shows him in the heat of battle, accoutred in battle-dress, with pith helmet, gauntlets, spurs and so on, his sword in his hand, a pistol at his waist and a water-canteen at his back. One arm raised to call on his men, he is stepping over what Terry Cavanagh identifies as "an African warrior's shield" (268). The plaque explains that Earle died in 1885 while commanding Her Majesty's troops in the battle of Kirbekan in the Sudan (he was en route to Khartoum, to rescue Gordon), and that the statue was erected by public subscription.
Other views
Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee 2006