Summary
First World War memorial, before 1922.
Reasons for Designation
Coldmeece War Memorial, which stands at the roadside opposite Meece Lane, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on a family and the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the First World War;
* Architectural interest: an elegant and well-carved Celtic cross.
History
Captain Charles Edmund Wood, Adjutant of the 1st Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle on 11 March 1915. The younger son of Mr and Mrs EJW Wood of Meece House, Captain Wood became an officer in the territorials in 1909. Having deployed to France shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, he was mentioned in dispatches before taking part in the Spring offensive that started on 10 March 1915. He was buried at Fauguissant near Laventie. The memorial cross was erected by Captain Wood’s parents, presumably before the death of Mr EJW Wood in 1922.
Details
Coldmeece War Memorial stands at the roadside, at the junction of Meece Road and Swynnerton Road. It comprises a stone wheel-head cross in the Celtic style with intricate interlace patterns decorating the cross shaft. The shaft rises from a plinth that stands on a two-stepped, square, base. The inscription on the front face of the plinth reads TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN GLORIOUS AND GRATEFUL/ MEMORY OF ALL THOSE WHO FOR KING/ AND COUNTRY GAVE THEIR LIVES IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN ERECTED BY/ THE PARENTS OF ONE WHO FELL IN ACTION/ AT THE BATTLE OF NEUVE CHAPELLE IN/ FRANCE ON THE 11TH MARCH 1915.
End of official list entry
