St George - Lord's Roundabout, St John's Wood, London, UK - Equestrian Statues on Waymarking.com

The statue shows St George, mounted on his horse, slaying the dragon. St George is wearing a suit of armour and is carrying a spear in his right hand. The point of the spear has been thrust down the dragon's throat. The horse is rearing up on its hind legs as if escaping from the dragon.

The statue is on top of a Portland stone war memorial with the plinth and statue coming together in 1936. The statue dates from about 1907.

The Catholic On-Line website (visit link) tells us about St George:

"Pictures of St. George usually show him killing a dragon to rescue a beautiful lady. The dragon stands for wickedness. The lady stands for God's holy truth. St. George was a brave martyr who was victorious over the devil.

He was a soldier in the army of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and he was one of the Emperor's favorite soldiers. Now Diocletian was a pagan and a bitter enemy to the Christians. He put to death every Christian he could find. George was a brave Christian, a real soldier of Christ. Without fear, he went to the Emperor and sternly scolded him for being so cruel. Then he gave up his position in the Roman army. For this he was tortured in many terrible ways and finally beheaded.

So boldly daring and so cheerful was St. George in declaring his Faith and in dying for it that Christians felt courage when they heard about it. Many songs and poems were written about this martyr. Soldiers, especially, have always been devoted to him.

We all have some 'dragon' we have to conquer. It might be pride, or anger, or laziness, or greediness, or something else. Let us make sure we fight against these "dragons", with God's help. Then we can call ourselves real soldiers of Christ."