Filby War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled on 23 November 1919, with Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Filby War Memorial, which is situated in All Saints Churchyard, 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 a simple but well-executed granite wheel-head cross.

Group value: for its relationship with the Grade II*-listed Church of All Saints.

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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Filby as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Like many Norfolk war memorials, Filby's is situated within a churchyard. The memorial was unveiled on 23 November 1919 by Mrs C B Lucas. It commemorates 13 local servicemen who fell in the First World War. An inscription was added at some point after 1945 to honour the three men who fell in the Second World War.

Details

First World War memorial with Second World War additions.

MATERIALS: Red granite, stone.

DESCRIPTION: Filby War Memorial is located in the churchyard of the Church of All Saints (Grade II*-listed). It is situated to the left upon entering the churchyard.

The memorial takes the form of a polished granite wheel-head cross on a tapering plinth with moulded cap, on a single-stepped stone base. The plinth carries the inscriptions and names in incised lettering which is painted black.

The north face of the plinth has the principal inscription, which reads: THIS CROSS IS ERECTED/ IN MEMORY OF THE MEN/ FROM THIS PARISH WHO LAID/ DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR/ COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1919/ THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE. The 13 names are to the east and west faces of the plinth.

The south face carries the Second World War inscription 1939 - 1945/ IN HONOURED MEMORY/ (3 NAMES)

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: The memorial is enclosed by a low wooden fence*.

* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 ('the Act') it is declared that this aforementioned feature is not of special or historic interest.

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.

Sources

Websites
Filby Village website, accessed 18 May 2017 from http://www.filbyvillage.org.uk/warmemor/chmem/memorial.htm
War Memorials Register, accessed 18 May 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/55635
Waymarking.com, accessed 18 May 2017 from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM8Y1P_Combined_War_Memorial_All_Saints_Church_Filby_Norfolk_UK
War Memorials Online, accessed 24 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253532

Other
‘Filby War Memorial’, Yarmouth Independent, (29 November 1919), pp3

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry