The Surrey town of Woking has long been associated with H G Wells. Wells lived in Woking for several years, during which time he wrote his classic novel of alien invasion, The War of the Worlds (1898), much of which is set in and around the town. For the 1998 centenary of the publication of The War of the Worlds, Woking Borough Council chose to mark Woking's connection with both author and book by commissioning a sculpture representing the book's most striking image: the Martian Fighting Machine.
The Woking Martian sculpture was created by artist Michael Condron and unveiled in April 1998. It consists of three elements: the Martian Fighting Machine, the Martian Cylinder and the Bacteria.
Michael Condron's Web Site has more information about the Martian, the artist and his other works.
The Martian Fighting Machine sculpture represents one of the vast metal tripods from which the invading Martians wreaked havoc with their deadly Heat Ray. The chrome-plated stainless-steel sculpture is 7 metres (23 feet) tall with legs 17 centimetres (7 inches) in diameter. It is depicted advancing from the direction of Horsell Common, the landing site of the first Martian Cylinder.
The Martian Cylinder represents the first of the projectiles that carried the Martians to Earth, landing on Horsell Common some 3 kilometres (2 miles) from Woking town centre. The cylinder element of the Woking Martian depicts the cylinder embedded in the Common, with different coloured bricks representing layers of soil thrown up by the impact.
In The War of the Worlds the Earth's bacteria prove the downfall of the Martians. The concourse between the Fighting Machine and the Cylinder features a number of inlaid mosaics depicting bacteria; fittingly, the final one shows a microbe slithering up a leg of the Fighting Machine.
Click here for a map of Woking town centre. The Martian is located not far from the Town Hall, on the footpath between the NW end of Commercial Way and Church St East. It is about two minutes' walk from Woking Station, which is on the main line from London Waterloo.
Woking Borough Council's Web site has a web page with information about the Woking Martian.
The War of the Worlds is out of copyright in the USA and is thus available in electronic form.
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds has recently been re-released with additional material.
[News Update - 3 January 2006] Jeff Wayne is to conduct a live production of The War of the Worlds on tour during April 2006 . Please see the getLIVE WOTW website for more information and booking details.
Copyright © 1998-2006 Simon Bradshaw
Most recent revision January 3rd, 2006