Great Dalby War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial on the village green, Great Dalby, unveiled on 25 July 1920 by ex Pte Harry Bonshor and dedicated by Vicar Rev RC Dashwood. Restored in 1992 and 2006.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial on the village green at Upper End, Great Dalby, unveiled on 25 July 1920 by ex Pte Harry Bonshor and dedicated by Vicar Rev RC Dashwood is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community and the sacrifice it has made in the First World War;
* Design interest: as an accomplished and well-executed memorial which takes the form of a latin cross.

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.

The memorial on the village green, Great Dalby was unveiled on 25 July 1920 by ex Pte Harry Bonshor and dedicated by Vicar Rev RC Dashwood. A note dated to 1992 described the memorial as ‘recently cleaned, repointed and relettered.’ In 2006 a War Memorials Trust grant was given for essential repair work to the wrought-iron fence surrounding the memorial.

Details

First World War memorial on the village green, Great Dalby, unveiled on 25 July 1920 by ex Pte Harry Bonshor and dedicated by Vicar Rev RC Dashwood. Restored in 1992 and 2006.

MATERIALS: Red Mountsorrel Granite.

PLAN: square in plan.

DESCRIPTION: The memorial stands in a prominent location on the village green, Great Dalby and comprises a Latin cross on a square plinth which stands on a four stepped base, all in granite. The whole is surrounded by decorative wrought iron railings standing on a brick curb. The railings may be a later addition, possibly early to mid-C20 in date, the enclosure certainly appears on OS maps dating to 1965. The brick curb has been repaired in places and concrete posts have been retained to support the railings.

The inscription on the N face of the plinth reads THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919/ TO OUR GLORIOUS/ DEAD. The names and rank of the 11 men of the parish who lost their lives in the conflict are inscribed on the other faces of the plinth.

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, 16 March 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 7 September 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/37691
Leicestershire war memorials project, accessed 7 September 2016 from http://www.leicestershirewarmemorials.co.uk/war/memorials/view/483
War Memorials Online, accessed 16 March 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/86745

End of official list entry

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