Summary
A Cross of Sacrifice war memorial, erected after the First World War to the design of 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission.
Reasons for Designation
The Cross of Sacrifice war memorial in Queens Road Cemetery, Walthamstow erected after the First World War, 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:
* Blomfield's symbolic design for the Imperial War Graves Commission, in the form of an octagonal cross and base executed in Portland stone.
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 prominently in Walthamstow Cemetery, now Queens Road Cemetery, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War, and later in the Second World War. It is undated but follows the design for a Cross of Sacrifice of 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield, commissioned by the Imperial War Graves Commission, and used world-wide.
Details
A Cross of Sacrifice, to the design of 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission.
It is constructed of Portland stone. Octagonal in profile, the cross has a facetted, tapering shaft, chamfered at the base, with a bronze sword mounted on its front face. It stands on a tall octagonal base, which stands on a stepped octagonal plinth, set on paving at ground level. Part of the plinth has been restored.
The base is inscribed with the dates 1914/ + /1918 and 1939/ + /1945. Beneath it is the inscription THEIR / NAME / LIVETH / FOR / EVERMORE.
It stands within Queens Road Cemetery, previously known as Walthamstow Cemetery, at a junction of paths at the head of the central, axial route, to the north of the cemetery chapels.
