Middlesex Regiment War Memorial

Summary

War memorial in the form of a Portland stone obelisk, erected 1922.

Reasons for Designation

Middlesex Regiment War Memorial, erected 1922, in memory of the fallen of the Regiment from the Seven Years War to the Great War, and later including those of the Second World War and the Korean War, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the Middlesex Regiment from the Seven Years War to the Korean War, spanning a period of one-hundred and ninety-four years. It is of strong historic and cultural significance, both at a local and a national level;
* Design interest: it is a dignified monument executed in good quality materials.

History

The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) was formed in 1881 when the 57th (West Middlesex) and 77th (East Middlesex) Regiments of Foot were combined with the various rifle volunteers and militias in Middlesex. The Regiment inherited the designation 'Duke of Cambridge's Own' from the 77th Foot, and gained the nickname, the 'Die Hards' from the 57th (West Middlesex) Foot. Initially the Regiment was housed at Bittacy Barracks (Mill Hill East) but they moved into the newly-built Inglis Barracks, Mill Hill in 1905. The barracks remained the regiment’s depot until 1967 when the 5th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment was finally disbanded. Inglis Barracks continued to be used by the army until 2008, when the site was released by the MoD for housing redevelopment, as a part of the Mill Hill East Area Action Plan.

The Middlesex Regiment sustained very severe losses during the First World War; the losses were sorely felt and a subscription fund for the erection of a memorial commenced in 1919. Sufficient funds were gathered by 1922 for the memorial to be erected to the south-east of the Officers’ Mess at Inglis Barracks, where it was unveiled by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII). The memorial is unusual, as it not only had an inscription to commemorate the 12,694 members of the regiment who died in the First World War, but from the outset it had a further inscription on a side face of the pedestal to commemorate those members of the regiment who died since the founding of the Regiment in 1757. Two further inscriptions have been carved into the opposite face, one commemorating the Second World War and the other the Korean War.

The War Memorial was dismantled and moved in 2012 from Inglis Barracks to a new site opposite St Paul's Church, Mill Hill. It was re-dedicated at a service on 18th July 2013 led by Reverend Jonathan Shaw. A bronze plaque commemorating the re-erection has been added to the memorial and was un-veiled at the ceremony by Brigadier Richard Dennis.

Details

The memorial stands on land adjacent to the south-western side of The Ridgeway (B522), opposite the Church of St Paul, Mill Hill. Constructed of light coloured Portland stone, it is approximately 6m tall and takes the form of a shouldered square obelisk with a pyramidal cap. The base of the obelisk is carved from a single block of stone, with a cavetto moulding that widens into a roll moulding, which in turn widens into a flat-faced square section. The obelisk is mounted on a pedestal with a cornice and recessed corners, raised on a moulded plinth, and set on a plain squared base on a podium. The podium is approached from the south-west by a paved area. A regimental badge is carved in relief on each face of the obelisk.

The pedestal is inscribed to the north-east: ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN HONOURED MEMORY OF 12694 OF ALL RANKS OF THE MIDDLESEX REGIMENT (DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE’S OWN) WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918’; to the south-east: ‘TO THE GLORIOUS DEAD OF THE REGIMENT ENGAGED IN CAMPAIGNS 1757 – 1913’; to the north-west: ‘TO THE HONOURED MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939 – 1945’ and ‘KOREA 1950 – 1951’. A painted bronze plaque with letters and a regimental badge in relief, is attached to the south-west face of the pedestal and reads – “The Diehards” ‘This memorial first erected at Inglis Barracks was moved to this location in 2012 following the closure, sale and redevelopment of the Barracks formerly the Depot of the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge’s Own). The names of those commemorated are Recorded in a Book of Remembrance In the Middlesex Chapel of St Pauls Cathedral. Contractors: The Inglis Consortium’.


This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 9 February 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 9 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/58081
War Memorials Online, accessed 9 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/145723

Other
Middlesex Regiment Memorial, Millbrook Park: Method Statement for Relocation of the War Memorial, 14 December 2011,
The Die-Hards No.109, Spring 2013, Newsletter of the Middlesex Regiment Association,

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