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Origin and history

The monument to the glory of the military health service was erected in 1938 in the 8th arrondissement of Lyon, at the corner of Boulevard Jean XXIII and Avenue des Frères Lumière. It commemorates the action of military doctors and nurses, especially during the First World War, through a pyramidal composition dominated by an allegory of the Victory armed with a sword. The bas-reliefs represent medical scenes (cardboarders, nurses, wounded soldiers) and symbols such as the caducée or a rescue dog marked with a red cross. The monument is located in a neighborhood dedicated to health, close to the Édouard Herriot Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine.

The project was created by a national competition launched in 1933 by the Committee of the National Monument raised to the memory of the members of the Dead Health Service for France, chaired by Professor Nicolas (Honorary Doctor-Colonel). Supported by Mayor Édouard Herriot, funding is based on a national subscription. Among 21 proposals, the project of architect Paul Bellemain and sculptor Louis Bertola was selected in 1936. Bertola, known for his bas-reliefs in direct size (like those of the monument of Ile aux Cygnes in Paris), makes the sculptures in fresh cement, a modern technique for the era. The monument was inaugurated in 1938 and moved in 1984 during the renovation of the district from the 3rd to the 8th arrondissement.

Ranked a historic monument in 2019, this late monument reflects a double memory: that of medical sacrifices during the Great War and a colonial dimension, honoring the care provided on the overseas territories (Indochina, Madagascar, Morocco, etc.). The opening speeches, marked by the tensions of the 1930s, evoke less hope for lasting peace than preparation for a new conflict. The monument also includes references to medical innovations (radiography, dental surgery) and modern risks such as toxic gases. Today, its precarious state of health (cracking, reduced readability) contrasts with its artistic and historical value, underlined by its inscription among the 40 monuments to the protected dead of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

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