Summary
Memorial cross to Lt AL Noon, dedicated 1919.
Reasons for Designation
The memorial cross to Lt AL Noon, which stands outside St Matthew’s Church in Butterleigh, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest:
* As an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on a family and this local community, and the sacrifice it made in the First World War;
Architectural interest:
* A simple yet well-proportioned memorial cross in granite, reminiscent of a churchyard or preaching cross;
Group value:
* With the Parish Church of St Matthew (Grade II*-listed).
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.
As well as collective monuments raised by communities or corporate bodies, such as schools and businesses, many families found ways to commemorate the death of their relation. Very commonly, names were added to existing funerary monuments. Some individuals were commemorated by the addition of a feature to an existing building, such as new windows for churches, or on tablets or wall plaques. Occasionally, freestanding memorials were erected, such as the statue to Private GW Jackson raised by his mother in the churchyard at Carlton-in-Lindrick (Grade II) and the cross to Arthur and John Tisdall at St George’s Church, Deal (Grade II*).
The parents of Lt Alfred Lewis Noon arranged for a cross to be erected in the churchyard of the Parish Church of St Matthew (Grade II*-listed), marking the death of their son. Noon’s father was the vicar. Alfred Noon served in 2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment; he died of wounds on 1 or 2 April 1918, aged 20, and was buried in Namps-au-Val British Cemetery. In late-March 1918 the battalion was holding the line near Happlincourt Chateaux: Noon likely received his injuries during one of the fierce German attacks that eventually broke through on 25 March.
The cross was dedicated on 16 June 1919 by the Bishop of Crediton, who on the same day dedicated the war memorial tablet inside the church that marks the deaths of four local servicemen in the First World War (including Lt Noon), and the service of a further 17 who returned.
Details
The granite cross stands outside the church’s south entrance, alongside a churchyard path. The rough-hewn cross has the monogram IHS carved at the centre of the cross arms. The cross shaft rises from an octagonal four-stepped base, in the manner of a churchyard or preaching cross. The inscriptions, in applied metal letters, are recorded on the front faces of each step.
(top step) TO THE GLORY OF GOD
(step) AND IN PROUD AND/ GRATEFUL MEMORY OF/ ALFRED LEWIS NOON/ LIEUTENANT (ACTG. CAPTAIN)/ 2ND BATT. DEVONSHIRE REGT.
(step) BELOVED YOUNGEST SON OF THE/ REV. A.K. NOON (RECTOR OF THIS/ PARISH) AND MRS NOON,/ WHO DIED APRIL 1ST (EASTER MONDAY)/ 1918 OF WOUNDS RECEIVED WHILST/ LEADING HIS COMPANY AT HAPPLINCOURT/ AGED 20.
(bottom step) BURIED IN THE BRITISH CEMETERY. NAMPS-AU-VAL-FRANCE/ "IN SURE AND CERTAIN HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION/ TO ETERNAL LIFE."/ R.I.P.
