Old Bolingbroke War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial. Erected in 1920 to a design by Ernest Browning of Messrs Browning and Sons of Spilsby.

Reasons for Designation

Old Bolingbroke War Memorial, which stands in the centre of the village, 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;
* Design: A Latin cross carved with long sword in raised relief, derived from the ‘Cross of Sacrifice’ designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission.

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 Old Bolingbroke as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. The memorial was unveiled on 26 June 1920 to commemorate nine men of the parish who died during the First World War. It was designed and erected by Messrs Browning and Sons of Spilsby for a cost of £250 but closely follows Sir Reginald Blomfield’s design for the Cross of Sacrifice. The memorial was unveiled by Colonel George Beaumont Walker VD following a special service attended by the community and led by local clergy. Following the Second World War two further names were added to the memorial.

Messrs Browning and Sons of Spilsby were responsible for a number of war memorials in Lincolnshire, including memorials at Fishtoft, East Kirkby and Stickney (all Grade II).

Details

First World War memorial. Erected in 1920 to a design by Ernest Browning of Messrs Browning and Sons of Spilsby.

MATERIALS: carved in limestone.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial stands on a small village green located at the junction of three roads. The area is grassed and the memorial is encircled by stone posts and a linked chain. The memorial is a 4.3m high Latin cross in Portland stone. It takes the form of the Cross of Sacrifice, with a crusader sword carved on the southern face of the cross. The memorial has a three-stepped octagonal base, with a two-tiered octagonal plinth above this. The cross-shaft is four-sided and tapers slightly. The memorial is inscribed with black incised lettering on all eight sides of the plinth, and on the base of the cross-shaft on the southern face. On the southern face the inscription reads (cross-base) TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF OLD BOLINGBROKE / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE / GREAT WAR / 1914-1918. The names, together with regiments, inscribed on the memorial are on the upper tier of the plinth, while the lower tier has a verse of scripture which reads anti-clockwise around the memorial. It reads (south face) GREATER LOVE (south-east) HATH NO MAN (east) THAN THIS (north-east) THAT A MAN (north) LAY DOWN (north-west) HIS LIFE (west) FOR HIS (south-west) FRIENDS. Below this, on the southern face, the two names of men who died in the Second World War are inscribed with the date ‘1939-1945’.
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, 5 June 2017.

Sources

Books and journals
Credland, M, The First World War Memorials of Lincolnshire, (2014), 17, 19-20, 144

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 5 June 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/20503
War Memorials Online, accessed 5 June 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/150161

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