Helmdon War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, erected in 1921. Later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Helmdon War Memorial, which stands on a triangular Green in the village, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: a large and well-executed Celtic cross.

History

The war memorial was erected in January 1921 and dedicated by the Bishop of Leicester.  The local Helmdon stone quarries were worked out by that time and the material for the memorial, greyish-purple Hornton stone, came from the Edge Hill quarries near Banbury; John Campin was the stone mason. The original memorial collapsed in a storm on 9 February 1925, subsequently being re-erected in December that year with a replacement to the central column and somewhat lower in height. At the time of its dedication, the memorial was surrounded by a picket fence enclosing the triangular Green on which the memorial stands. It is said that this fence was replaced in the 1950s.

Details

The memorial, overall c 4m tall, stands on a small, triangular Green. It comprises an apparently outsize wheel-head cross (perhaps because the shaft was originally taller) with blind tracery carved at the cross centre and decorating the cross arms. This stands at the top of a square-sectioned shaft, which rises from a short plinth. That stands on a taller base of a yellower stone. The memorial stands on a concrete surround.

On the base of the shaft is inscribed REMEMBER HIM/ WHO DIED FOR/ US ALL FORGET/ NOT THE MEN WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR ENGLAND. The names of those who died in the First World War are carved on the plinth. A plaque has been added to the base commemorating the name of one man who died in the Second World War.

To one side of the memorial a stone plaque set on the ground records the names of ten men of the US Army Air Corps who lost their lives in an aircraft crash at Astwell Castle Farm, approximately 2km to the east of Helmdon, on 30 November 1943.

The modern post and chain fence around the memorial is excluded from the listing.

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, 17 January 2017.

Sources

Websites
Helmdon Village Website, Village Trail, accessed 05/12/2014 from http://www.helmdon.com/trail/tier1/warmemorial.html
Helmdon's War Memorial. The Men Behind the Names., accessed 05/12/2014 from http://www.helmdon.com/history/helmdons_war_memorial_v1.pdf
War Memorials Register, accessed 17 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/15073
War Memorials Online, accessed 17 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/214995

Other
Northampton Mercury newspaper, published on 28 June 1929
Northampton Mercury newspaper, published 13 February 1925
Postcard of war memorial with postmark dated July 1921

End of official list entry

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