St Saviour's, Eastbourne War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1920, designed by Colin Hay Murray.

Reasons for Designation

St Saviour's, Eastbourne War Memorial 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 community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a well-executed Calvary cross with a striking and ornate plinth and base;
* Designer: by Eastbourne architect Colin Hay Murray;
* Group value: with the Church of St Saviour and St Peter (Grade II*).

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, 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.

One such memorial was raised at St Saviour's Church, Eastbourne 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 war memorial was designed by Colin Hay Murray (1885-1966) who was W H Murray’s son and pupil and was from 1903-05 in his office. He moved to London to assist his uncle and was employed from 1905-09 in the Architect’s Department of the London County Council. After war service, Murray took over the practice of his recently deceased father and it was known as W H Murray and Son in 1920 and Murray himself was still to be found in practice at Eastbourne in 1930.

The memorial was unveiled in 1920 and it commemorates 57 fallen local men.

In 1971 the nearby daughter church of St Peter’s was demolished and the two parishes were combined as St Saviour’s and St Peter’s Eastbourne.

Details

The memorial comprises a wooden cross c 4.5m high bearing a white figure of Christ crucified, set upon a red brick octagonal plinth capped with stone. This stands on a three-stepped base; the top two of red brick and the bottom of stone.

The plinth has inset stone panels, six of which carry the names. Another carries the inscription which near the dedication which reads: THESE/ DIED FOR US and another: THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918.

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 February 2017.

Sources

Websites
Colin Hay Murray, accessed 9 Nov 2016 from http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/spc_V31/architects-and-artists/659-architects-and-artists-m
War Memorials Register, accessed 9 Nov 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/17044
St Saviour's, Eastbourne War Memorial, accessed 9 Nov 2016 from http://www.stsaviourseastbourne.org.uk/st-saviours-and-the-two-world-wars
War Memorials Online, accessed 17 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/168366

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