Summary
First World War memorial, dedicated in 1920, with Second World War additions. It was designed by a Mr Evans of the Wayside Cross Society and executed by Robert Bridgeman and Sons of Lichfield. In the early 1990s it was re-sited and rededicated.
Reasons for Designation
Berkswich war memorial, dedicated in 1920 and executed by Robert Bridgeman and Sons of Lichfield, with Second World War additions, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of a world events on this community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: as an accomplished and well-realised war memorial which takes the form of a wayside cross.
History
The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. One such memorial was erected in 1920 at Berkswich in Staffordshire, to commemorate the 24 men of the parish who died during the conflict, along with one woman, Marjorie Gibson, a VAD nurse. Funded by public subscription, the memorial was executed by the sculptors Robert Bridgeman & Sons of Lichfield and designed by a Mr Evans of the Wayside Cross Society. In order to appeal to a wider public than could be reached by memorials in churchyards, the Wayside Cross Society, which was founded in 1917, campaigned for the erection of new crosses along the roadsides of Britain. Although the society dissolved in 1919 due to lack of public support, the parishioners of Berkswich nonetheless raised a memorial cross on a traffic island at Weeping Cross, at the junction between the roads from Lichfield to Stafford and Birmingham to Stafford. It was dedicated on the 1st November 1920 by the Bishop of Lichfield. Following the Second World War a further 12 names were added to commemorate the men who died during this conflict. In the early 1990s the memorial was moved a short distance to the north-east to facilitate improvements to the neighbouring road junction and rededicated by the Bishop of Lichfield.
Details
First World War memorial, dedicated in 1920, with Second World War additions. It was designed by a Mr Evans of the Wayside Cross Society and executed by Robert Bridgeman and Sons of Lichfield. In the early 1990s it was re-sited and rededicated.
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