Dallington War Memorial

Summary

War memorial. Unveiled 1920.

Reasons for Designation

Dallington War Memorial, at the north-east corner of St Mary’s churchyard, 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 First World War;
* Design: a tall, well-carved stone cross of some elaboration;
* Group value: with the Grade II*-listed Church of St Mary.

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 Dallington as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 17 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The memorial was designed by Messrs Holding and Harris, and constructed by Henry Green of Northampton. The laurel wreath of fame was carved by a local man, Mr SL Reynolds. The overall cost was £290. The memorial was unveiled on 19 May 1920 by Earl Spencer and dedicated by the Reverend Canon J Rowden Hussey. The names of 16 men, one of whom had died since the war's end, were initially inscribed on the memorial; one further name was later added.

Details

The memorial takes the form of an elaborate Weldon stone cross, c6m high, standing in the south-east corner of the churchyard of the Church of St Mary (Grade II*-listed). A three-stepped base consisting of two octagonal steps and a square step are surmounted by a square plinth with angle buttresses. Rising from the plinth is a square-based pillar transposing into an octagonal sectioned tapering shaft with integral cross with foliate ends; around the head is a laurel wreath.

Each face of the plinth has a recessed gothic panel. That to the front carries the inscription: 'THOSE WHOM THIS/ CROSS COMMEMORATES/ HEARD THE CALL OF/ GOD, KING & COUNTRY./ THEY LEFT ALL THAT/ WAS DEAR TO THEM./ THEY ENDURED HARDNESS,/ FACED DANGER, AND PASSED/ OUT OF THE SIGHT OF MEN/ BY THE PATH OF DUTY/ AND SELF-SACRIFICE./ THEY GAVE THEIR OWN/ LIVES THAT OTHERS/ MIGHT LIVE IN FREEDOM./ LET THOSE WHO COME AFTER/ SEE TO IT THAT THEIR/ NAMES BE NOT FORGOTTEN'. The names of those who died appear in two side panels.

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, 27 February 2018.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 17 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/42263
War Memorials Online, accessed 27 February 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/256307

Other
"War Memorial at Dallington", Northampton Mercury, 24 September 1920, p4

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