Ulgham War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 1924.

Reasons for Designation

Ulgham War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of the Church of St John the Baptist, 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 sacrifices it has made in the First World War;
* Architectural interest; an imposing memorial cross in the Celtic style;
* Degree of survival: unusually, the memorial has not been adapted for Second World War commemoration and thus retains its original design intent;
* Group value: with the Church of St John the Baptist and a number of churchyard monuments, all Grade II listed.

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

The memorial was unveiled on 27 July 1924 by the Honourable Arthur Joicey and dedicated by the Vicar, Reverend PC Fielding. It commemorates 19 local servicemen who died in the First World War. The memorial was designed by WR Rochester and provided by Maile and Son Ltd of London, paid for by public subscription.

Details

The memorial stands in the churchyard of the Church of St John the Baptist (Grade II listed), in close proximity to a number of Grade II listed churchyard monuments. It takes the form of a Celtic cross, in granite. The front face of the cross-head is ornamented with five hemispherical bosses. The cross shaft rises from a tapering pedestal, which stands on a two-stepped base.

The inscription begins at the foot of the cross shaft and continues on the staggered top of the pedestal to the pedestal’s front face, reading: TO THE/ GLORY OF GOD/ AND/ IN/ HONOURED MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF THE PARISH OF ULGHAM/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ (18 NAMES). Below, on the riser of the upper step, the inscription continues: THE MEN WERE VERY GOOD UNTO US, AND WE WERE NOT HURT,/ THEY WERE A WALL UNTO US BOTH BY NIGHT AND DAY/ (NAME).


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, 23 February 2017.

Sources

Websites
North East War Memorials Project, accessed 27/10/2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=9095
War Memorials Register, accessed 23 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/34204
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/165318

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