Carleton Rode War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled on 5 September 1920, with Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Carleton Rode 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 the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a simple but dignified Latin cross;
* Group value: with Rectory Cottages (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 war memorial was raised at Carleton Rode as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The funds for the Carleton Rode memorial of £100 were raised by public subscription in 1919-20 largely through the efforts of W H Brown and the committee. It was designed by Sidney Smith and built by local masons, F W Youngs of Attleborough. The memorial was unveiled on 5 September 1920 by Major Cantley and dedicated by the Archdeacon of Norfolk, G M McDermott.

The memorial originally commemorated 20 local servicemen who fell in the First World War.

A Second World War name was added in 1947 and unveiled by one of the casualty’s work colleagues, an ex-serviceman, Mr J Backburn. Two more names were added in 2015, one from the First World War and one from the Second World War.

Details

MATERIALS: Portland stone.

DESCRIPTION: Carleton Rode War Memorial is located in a graveyard on Church Road, Carleton Rode. The memorial comprises a Latin cross standing some 3.6m high, with integral shaft and moulded lower section, which stands atop a square-section base with rustic, natural rock-like dressing around the edges and smooth faces within to bear the inscriptions, which stands above the four-stepped base.

The inscription reads: IN MEMORIAM/ (NAMES)/ GOD KING COUNTRY/ 1914 – 1918/ 1944/ (NAMES).


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, 25 July 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 6 March 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/141386
War Memorials Register, accessed 25 July 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/72594

Other
Diss Express - Friday 14 November 1947, p6
Carleton Rode, Eastern Daily Press, 11 September 1920

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