EXETER City Council’s Executive have voted for the removal of the statue of General Sir Redvers Buller and his horse Biffin near Exeter College.
A council review into the "continued appropriateness" of the 1905 Buller statue in Exeter recommended it be relocated due to the Army General’s connection to the British Empire.
Exeter’s Executive councillors, on Tuesday evening (January 12), voted in favour of the report’s findings.
This included approval of steps being taken towards an application for listed building consent for the relocation of the statue to an alternative location.
The approval also includes provision of an opportunity for public consultation prior to determination of the matter by the full Council.
It has been estimated that the relocation will cost a minimum of £25,000.
The review said: "The current location is inappropriate because it is outside an educational establishment which includes young people from diverse backgrounds."
An Exeter City Council spokesman said: "The Buller statue has become a cause of some public debate not only because of the man it portrays, but also because of the names carved on the plinth of colonial campaigns which sought to advance British imperialist interests in other countries.
"The statue and plinth are Grade II listed, and as such any relocation or changes made to it require formal listed building consent."
The decision was made within the context of the Black Lives Matter movement against systematic racism and followed campaigns with a number of towns and cities across the UK to reconsider the present appropriateness of statues, especially those of prominent people involved in the transatlantic slave trade or advancing imperialism and colonialism.
It is not clear to where the statue will be moved.
STATUE WOULD BE WELCOME AT DOWNES
"After all, Downes is his family home, and the house is currently open to the public."
Councillors also voted for temporary information boards to be erected near the statue.
General Sir Redvers Buller is regarded as Crediton’s second most celebrated son of modern times.
His distinguished military career included campaigns in the Sudan and the Boer War.
He was held in very high regard by his troops who nicknamed him the “People’s General”.
MEMORIAL
He was also held in high regard by the people of the Crediton and Exeter. He is remembered by the memorial in Crediton Parish Church and by the statue of himself on horseback in Exeter.
General Buller was General Officer Commander at the British Army headquarters at Aldershot from October 1898 to October 1899 and January to October 1901.
In addition to his Crediton home at Downes (where he was born in 1839), he also lived in an Army-supplied home at Aldershot while serving there.
He was the recipient of the Victoria Cross in 1879 following the Zulu Wars. He received the VC for his bravery after saving four of his men despite heavy losses.
VICTORIA CROSS
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration for gallantry and valour in the face of the enemy awarded to British and Commonwealth servicemen.
Following the Boar war, he returned to Crediton amid great revelry.
He was given the Freedom of Exeter by Exeter City Council and the County of Devon gave him a bejewelled sword, which hangs in Exeter Guildhall.
He died at Downes House, as Lord of the Manor on June 2, 1908, aged 69.
He is buried in the Buller Family Memorial in the north east corner of the churchyard at Crediton Parish Church.
General Buller was the second son of James Wentworth Buller, MP for Exeter.
The town of Redvers, in Canada is named after him, as is the Royal Logistic Corps barracks at Aldershot.
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