Summary
First World War Memorial Gates, 1923, and a First World War memorial, 1933, with additions for the Second World War and later conflicts.
Reasons for Designation
Kirby Muxloe Stone of Remembrance and War Memorial Gates, situated in the memorial garden on Station Road, Kirby Muxloe, Leicester, are 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 sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20 and C21;
* Architectural interest: a well-proportioned Stone of Remembrance in Portland stone and a dignified pair of memorial gate piers in Portland stone with ironwork gates.
History
The memorial gates were erected in 1923 to commemorate the men from the village who fell in the First World War and to dedicate the playing fields behind the library and bowling green to their names. They were created by Joseph Herbert Morcom and John Russell, and the unveiling took place on 10 June 1923 by Colonel R E Martin CMG TD DL.
The Stone of Remembrance was engraved by Joseph Herbert Morcom, who was responsible for the memorial gates as well as other memorials in Leicestershire such as Queniborough, Quorn and Aylestone. The Stone of Remembrance was first dedicated in 1933, and unveiled on 15 October 1933 by Colonel John Brown CB CBE DSO TD JP DL.
After the Second World War two plaques were added to either side of the memorial to commemorate the fallen of that conflict. All three plaques were later renovated in 2008, and the 24 names from the Second World War were added to the left side of the memorial whilst the right side commemorates a soldier who fell in the Korean conflict in 1951 and a soldier who fell in the Iraq conflict in 2007. The original three plaques have been respectfully installed in the local cemetery on the other side of the village.
The garden of remembrance the memorial stands in was redesigned in September 1996 to its current layout.
Details
First World War memorial gates erected in 1923, and a Stone of Remembrance dedicated to the dead of the First World War, Second World War, and conflicts in Korea and Iraq. Erected by Joseph Herbert Morcom and John Russell.
MATERIALS: Portland stone, slate plaques, iron gates.
On the left pier is inscribed the date 1914 in Roman numerals, MCMXIV, with the inscription AS YOU HERE JOIN/OTHERS IN RECREA-/ TION THINK OF THE / MEN OF THIS VILLAGE / WHO FOUGHT AND / FELL FOR FREEDOM / AND RIGHT. THE / FOREMOST PURPOSE OF / THIS PLAYING FIELD / IS TO KEEP THEIR / NAMES WHICH ARE ALL / INSCRIBED ON THE / STONE OPPOSITE IN / LOVING REMEMBRANCE.
The right pier marks the date 1919 in Roman numerals, MCMXIX, followed by a list of 15 names. The last name on this was added to the list of Second World War names on the Stone of Remembrance.
The gates bear the initials KM in the ironwork of the overthrow, above the inscription AD PERPETUAM AD MEMORIAM.
The Stone of Remembrance is a sensitive adaptation of Sir Edwin Lutyens’ design for the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission, engraved by Joseph Herbert Morcom. It stands upon a two-stepped base instead of the traditional three-stepped base and includes slate tablets on the front and sides of the memorial to record the names of those who fell. It is situated within a memorial garden adjacent to the Memorial Gates. The inscription on the front of the memorial reads 1914 THE GREAT WAR 1919 / (NAMES) / THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE.
The left side bears a plaque dedicated to those who fell in the Second World War with a list of 24 names beneath the dates 1939 - 1945. The right side bears a plaque with the inscription LET US ALSO / REMEMBER and contains two names from the post-Second World War conflicts in Korea (1951) and Iraq (2007).
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, 24 November 2017.
