The Maiwand Lion is a war memorial to those who fell in the Afghan Campaigns, and stands in Forbury Gardens in Reading. The cast-iron sculpture was cast by Messrs.Young and Co. of Pimlico in 1866. Prior to conservation, the protective paint layer on the cast-iron lion was beginning to fail and the large stone plinth required cleaning.

The bronze memorial plaques had not been maintained for several years. This had resulted in green copper sulphates staining the Portland stone plinth. This type of staining is almost impossible to remove, though the appearance can be improved (see photo below, after conservation). Poulticing the stain is an option, however this carries the risk of drawing further staining out of the stone. Micro-abrasive cleaning is not recommended on soft, porous stones such as Portland, as even the most gentle abrasive damages the stone.

Such copper staining can be avoided by regular maintenance of bronze sculptures and plaques.

The plaques also had several fixings missing and had been vandalised as a result, causing some of them to be bent and distorted.

Paint scrapes were taken from areas of the sculpture likely to have retained all the layers of paint throughout the history of the monument.

Analysis revealed the original colour of the lion to be a dark 'bronze' green. There were two applications of this colour, followed by a bright municipal green, then three more coats of the original bronze green.

The colour of the lion then changed to grey, well before World War II, and remained so until this year. The most recent applications were of grey aluminium paint.

The lion then received two midcoats of micaceous iron oxide, and then two top coats of exterior grade metal paint were applied in a colour to match the original colour. Finally the conserved bronze plaques were returned to site and securely refixed.