This figure is at the top of a war memorial in a local cemetery. It was put
up the by a fraternal lodge called Sons of England after the First World War. To be honest, I am not sure if this organisation still exists, though I would guess maybe not as their memorial is clearly not very well-maintained. The entire thing was white/light-coloured at one time.
The little street where I grew up is just across from this cemetery, and at that time the urban legend amongst the local kids was that if you disrespected this statue (most commonly by kicking its base) it would come to life and take revenge on you. I never kicked the statue (or otherwise disrespected it) but I did pass a long and not very restful night once after a friend sleeping over at my house kicked it in spite of my horrified protests!
As an adult, realising that this statue is actually a cenotaph, I figure the legend has probably served to make generations of kids be "respectful" of the war memorial (though why someone might have the urge to kick a large stone monument is a bit beyond me anyway!), and I also wonder if it was originally the ghosts of the soldiers that would find the offending child.
