Statue of Robert Raikes, London Statue of Robert Raikes, London A statue of Robert Raikes, often regarded as being the founder of Sunday schools, executed by the sculptor Thomas Brock, stands in Victoria Embankment Gardens, London, United Kingdom. It was unveiled by the Earl of Shaftesbury on 3 July 1880 and marked the centenary of the opening of the first Sunday school. The critic Edmund Gosse considered the statue to be "as good as anything of the kind we possess in England". In 1958 it was designated a Grade II-listed building. The front of the plinth reads: . An inscription below the figure's right foot
Geoffrey Raikes Lieutenant of Brecknockshire from 1948 to 1959. Geoffrey Raikes Major-General Sir Geoffrey Taunton Raikes CB DSO (7 April 1884 – 1975) was a British Army General who achieved high office in the 1930s. Educated at Radley College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Raikes was commissioned into the South Wales Borderers in 1903. He was seconded to the Egyptian Army from 1913 to 1915. He served in World War I and in April 1918 found himself as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers at Armentières where the battalion suffered heavy losses. After the War he became