Duston War Memorial

Summary

War memorial, unveiled 1921, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Duston War Memorial, on open ground at the end of the drive to St Luke’s church, 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 sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a modest but well-executed memorial;
* Group value: with several buildings listed at Grade II, standing around the adjacent road junction.

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. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Duston as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 30 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

A public meeting on 4 September 1919 decided that the community’s war memorial should take the form of a new hall housing a Roll of Honour. In the event there was not enough support to fund this scheme and at a further meeting on 5 February 1920 it was decided to raise a memorial cross. The cross, costing £248 8s, was designed by Messrs J G Pullen & Sons of Northampton. The plot of land on which it stands had been given by Mr A E Smith of Elms Farm, Millway. The memorial was unveiled at an ecumenical ceremony held on 6 February 1921 by Lt-Col John Brown DSO, Deputy Lieutenant of Northamptonshire, and dedicated by the vicar, Reverend WD Pearson. Following the Second World War the details of 13 men who died in that conflict were added, including an Air Raid Precautions Warden who died having been injured on 26 August 1940.

Details

The memorial, in an open area off Main Road at the start of the drive down to the Grade-I listed Church of St Luke, comprises a three-stepped square base of Derbyshire stone surmounted by a tall, square-sectioned, Weldon stone pillar topped with a small plain Latin cross. Overall, the memorial is c3.5 m tall. There is moulded drapery around the top of pillar and a laurel wreath in relief at the pillar’s base.

On the front face of the pillar is an incised stone tablet inscribed TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF DUSTON/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN/ THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1919/ (30 NAMES)/ GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN/ THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY/ DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.

A side face carries a brass plaque carrying the words: THIS PLAQUE/ WAS ERECTED TO/ COMMEMORATE THOSE/ OF THIS PARISH WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ AND ALSO/ THOSE WHO SERVED IN/ HM FORCES DURING THE/ SECOND WORLD WAR/ 1939 - 1945/ THESE ARE THEY WHO MADE/ THE SUPREME SACRIFICE/ (13 NAMES).

The memorial stands in a small, ironstone-walled, splayed enclosure with stone-flagged base.

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, 17 January 2017.

Sources

Books and journals
Golby, F, A History of Old Duston and Old St James Northampton, (1992), 34-5

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 20/07/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/14943
War Memorials Online, accessed 17 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/217504

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