“On a very gloomy dismal day, just such a one as it ought to be, I went to see Westminster Abbey.”
Karl Philipp Moritz
Journeys of a German in England

“To the memory of those educated at Westminster School who died in the Russian and Indian wars A.D.1854–1859 on the field of battle or from wounds or sickness, some in early youth, some full of years and honours but who all alike gave their lives for their country. This column was erected by their old schoolfellows in token of sorrow for their loss and of pride in their valour and in full assurance that the remembrance of their heroism in life and death will inspire their successors at Westminster with the same courage and self-devotion.‘