Honoring War's Dead

Following the First World War, Radnor residents decided to honor local casualties of the war by erecting a memorial. The Chew family donated a piece of their land at the corner of Lancaster Avenue and Iven Avenue (the corner of today's Micro Center property), and famed sculptor R. Tait McKenzie created the bas-relief bronze panel depicting soldiers with bayonets. Louis S. Adams was the architect of the memorial's wall. Township residents were asked to subscribe to the project, with a goal of raising $10,000. On Memorial Day, Sunday, May 28, 1922, the memorial was dedicated. U.S. Senator George Wharton Pepper (PA-R) was in attendance. The man saluting in this photograph is said to be General William A. Wiedersheim. Also seen are several children, some of whose fathers' names are on the memorial. In the years since this photograph was taken, the memorial has been moved to the corner of South Wayne and Runnymede Avenues where it was rebuilt exactly, and panels have been added to commemorate veterans of more recent wars. The memorial remains the centerpiece of Radnor's Memorial Day activities.

--Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society