Holcombe War Memorial, Somerset

Summary

First World War memorial, circa 1920, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Holcombe War Memorial, Somerset 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: as an accomplished and well-realised war memorial, which takes the form of a sandstone cross with a wheel head on a tapered shaft.

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, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Holcombe, Somerset as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the nine members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. Following the Second World War a further inscription was added to commemorate the fallen of that conflict.

Details

A churchyard First World War memorial cross of circa 1920 with later Second World War additions and alterations after 1945, which stands to the S of the Church of St Andrew, Holcombe, Somerset.

MATERIALS & PLAN: sandstone with bronze plaques. The wheelhead cross stands on a rectangular plinth and platform and faces W.

The E and W faces show the wheelhead cross, which has trefoil tracery to each quadrant. The arms of the cross have hollow chamfers at the edges and the shaft is tapered. It is supported on a plinth with a simple, cyma moulding to its top. A rectangular bronze plaque at the centre of the W face reads IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS / PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN / THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM, HONOUR / AND RIGHT. Below this are recorded the names of the fallen from the First World War with their regiments and the date of their death. Below again it reads IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE / 1 COR. XV22.

The plaque on the N face reads IN MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF HOLCOMBE / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR THEIR COUNTRY DURING / THE WORLD WAR 1939-1945, below which the names of the fallen are given with their service and their ages, which range from 19 to 23. The other two sides of the plinth are blank.

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, 21 February 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 21 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/1381
War Memorials Online, accessed 21 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/233463

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