Stokenchurch War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 1925, with Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Stokenchurch war memorial, which is situated outside the Memorial Hall off Wycombe Road, is 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;

Architectural interest:
* As an elegant Latin cross memorial with finely carved details.

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 Stokenchurch as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The memorial was built by Messrs Axtell and Son of Oxford, who erected a number of First World War memorials in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire area, including the Grade II-listed New Marston War Memorial and St Clement's, Oxford War Memorial. Stokenchurch memorial was unveiled on 7 June 1925 by Field Marshall Sir William R Robertson. It commemorates the 40 members of the local community who died in service during the First World War.

The memorial was built on land donated by Marcus Slade QC of Stokenchurch adjacent to a memorial hall, which was also erected in 1925.

The names of the 31 members of the local community who died during the Second World War were added at some point after 1945. These include two women - Eleanor Slade and Mary Steptoe.

Eleanor Slade was an experienced pilot and reached the rank of Flight Captain in the Air Transport Auxiliary. She died following a crash after take-off at Little Rissington, Gloucestershire on 13 July 1944, age 40.

Florence Mary Steptoe was a Private in the Auxiliary Territorial Service and died on 26 October 1942, age 20.

Details

First World War memorial, erected in 1925 by Messrs Axtell and Son of Oxford, with Second World War additions.

DETAILS: Stokenchurch war memorial is situated on a grassed area, adjacent to the Memorial Hall off Wycombe Road.

The memorial takes the form of a Latin cross-head with collar and a trefoil-headed cusp in each angle. This crowns an octagonal shaft with splayed foot. The shaft rises from an octagonal, castellated plinth with a molded, two-stage foot surmounting a five-stepped base. Each face of the plinth has inset panels with tracery carved in relief to the upper part. The inscription and names are incised on the panels.

The dedication reads: TO THE/ GLORIOUS/ MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF/ THIS PARISH/ WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR/ COUNTRY/ 1914 - 1919. Incised directly below, but outside of the panel, are the dates 1939-1945. The rest of the panels carry the names: four with the 40 names of those who died in the First World War and the remaining three panels bearing the 31 names from the Second World War.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 14 June 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/8307
War Memorials Online, accessed 14 June 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/146512/
Buckinghamshire Remembers, accessed 14 June 2017 from http://buckinghamshireremembers.org.uk/gateway.php?page=416
Stokenchurch Memorial Hall Social Club, accessed 15 June 2017 from https://stokenchurchchilterns.wordpress.com/club-information/
‘Steptoe, Florence Mary H.’, Commonwealth Graves Commission, accessed 15 June 2017 from http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2706711/STEPTOE,%20FLORENCE%20MARY%20H
A Fleeting Peace, Golden Age Aviation in the British Empire, accessed 15 June 2017 from http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/aviators/s#EISlade

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