Halse War Memorial

Summary

A First World War memorial, dating from 1918; with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial in Halse is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Relative date: unveiled in March 1918, the memorial is unusually early in date;
* 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 interest: a well-executed stone memorial, with a good inscription tablet;
* Group value: with the Grade-I listed Church of St James, in whose churchyard it stands, and with the cluster of Grade II-listed chest tombs in the churchyard, which form part of the same commemorative landscape.

History

The war memorial in Halse was unveiled and dedicated on 31 March 1918 by Rural Dean, Rev G P Whately. The memorial was endowed, at a cost of £120, by the Rector of Halse, the Reverend Ferguson Montgomery whose son Neville had been killed in action during the battle for Lens on 21 August 1917. The memorial appears initially to have been intended as a private monument, as it was set up before the end of the war, but its purpose was expanded to commemorate all the men of the village who had lost their lives. After the Second World War, the memorial was altered to also commemorate the parishioners who had lost their lives in that conflict.

In 2012, repairs were undertaken with the help of grant aid of £250 from War Memorials Trust. Two names were added to the memorial to commemorate men who had died of wounds after the end of the First World War.

Details

A First World War memorial, dating from 1918; altered after the Second World War.

MATERIALS: local stone with a bronze plaque.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial takes the form of a plain Latin cross with chamfered arms and shaft, on a base of three roughly-hewn octagonal stone steps, all set on a wider, octagonal platform with moulded edges. Let into the base is an angled stone to which is affixed a bronze plaque, inscribed: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF LIEUT/ NEVILLE MONTGOMERY, 29TH BATTALION CANADIAN INFANTRY, YOUNGER / SON OF THE RECTOR OF THIS PARISH, / WHO FELL IN ACTION AT THE BATTLE OF LENS AUG 21 1917 / AND THE FOLLOWING FROM THIS PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR / followed by the names of the eight men lost during the First World War; / AND OF THE FOLLOWING FROM THIS PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939 - 1945/ followed by the names of the five men who had died during that conflict.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 15 December 2016.

Sources

Websites
Somerset Historic Environment Record 18186: War memorial, Churchyard of St James, Halse, accessed 01.03.2016 from http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?prn=18186
War Memorials Register, accessed 01/03/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/24947
War Memorials Trust Showcase: Halse, accessed 01.03.2016 from http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=942
War Memorials Online, accessed 15/12/2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/132308

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