The Gilbert Monument - Bodmin Beacon

Did you know? The 44-metre tall monument was built in 1857 by the townspeople of Bodmin to honour the life and work in India of Sir Walter Raleigh Gilbert who was born in Bodmin in 1785. At the age of fifteen he joined the Bengal Infantry as a cadet and eventually rose to the rank of major-general. He became a national hero following his conquests in Northern India and (apart from the Duke of Wellington) was the only army officer whose portrait appeared on an army medal.