Girton War Memorial

Summary

War memorial, unveiled in 1919, and dedicated to the fallen of the First and Second World Wars.

Reasons for Designation

Girton War Memorial, which stands outside the church of St Andrew, 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: as a modest yet well-executed memorial;
* Group value: for the strong group value it holds with a number of listed buildings, including the nearby Church of St Andrew (Grade II*), and nos. 21 and 23 Cambridge Road (Grade II).

History

The concept of commemorating war dead did not develop to any great extent until towards the end of the C19. Prior to then memorials were rare and were mainly dedicated to individual officers, or sometimes regiments. The first large-scale erection of war memorials dedicated to the ordinary soldier followed the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, which was the first major war following reforms to the British Army which led to regiments being recruited from local communities and with volunteer soldiers. However, it was the aftermath of the First World War that was the great age of memorial building, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
Girton war memorial was unveiled in 1919 in commemoration of twenty local men who fell in the First World War (1914-18). The names of the fallen were inscribed on the plinth, and eleven names of the fallen of the Second World War (1939-45) were later added. The war memorial is prominently located in Girton village, on the east side of the Cambridge Road at the south entrance to the Church of St Andrew. The church is listed at Grade II*, and also contains a framed Roll of Honour dedicated to those who served in the First World War. South Cambridgeshire District Council awarded a grant to Girton Parish Council in 2000 for the cleaning and repair of the memorial.

Details

The Girton war memorial was constructed of Portland stone, and was unveiled in 1919. The monument is square in plan, and comprises a tapered obelisk on a pedimented plinth, with a stepped base bounded by a low wrought-iron rail. The memorial is surrounded by one course of cast-concrete paving slabs. The inscription on the east elevation of the plinth and base reads: ‘IN GRATEFUL MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF GIRTON / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM / DURING THE GREAT WAR / 1914-1918 / WHOSE NAMES ARE HEREON INSCRIBED / BY THE LONG ROAD THEY TROD / WITH SO MUCH FAITH AND SUCH DEVOTED / SELF SACRIFICE AND BRAVERY / WE REACHED VICTORY AND PEACE / GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS / THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE / FOR HIS FRIENDS’. The south and north elevations are each inscribed with ten names of the fallen of the First World War (1914-18). The west elevation is inscribed: ‘ALSO THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR / LIVES IN THE WORLD WAR / 1939-1945’ followed by eleven names of the fallen of the Second World War (1939-45). The monument stands to the east side of the Cambridge Road in Girton village, to the south of the Church of St Andrew (Grade II*).

Sources

Websites
Roll of Honour, accessed 7 July 2015 from http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Cambridgeshire/Girton.html
War Memorials Register, accessed 7 July 2015 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/46549
War Memorials Online, accessed 7 July 2015 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/node/141962
South Cambridgeshire District Council War Memorials Map, accessed 26 August 2015 from https://www.scambs.gov.uk/content/war-memorials-map

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