Creeting St Mary War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled on 15 February 1920, with Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Creeting St Mary War Memorial, which is situated in St Mary’s 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:

* a well-executed wheel-head cross memorial.

Group value:

* with the Grade II*-listed Church of St Mary.

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 Creeting St Mary as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 16 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. It was unveiled on 15 February 1920 by Lieutenant-Colonel Wylde. The memorial was erected by Mr E E Saunders of Ipswich, who built several other war memorials in the Suffolk area, including the Grade II-listed Framsden War Memorial.

The names of the four parishioners who fell during the Second World War were subsequently added to the memorial.

Details

First World War memorial, 1920, with Second World War additions.

DESCRIPTION: Creeting St Mary War Memorial is located in the churchyard, to the south of the Church of St Mary (Grade II*-listed).

The memorial is of Cornish granite and comprises a tall, wheel-head cross with a tapering shaft; the cross and shaft are inset to the north face and the cross-head has a raised circular boss at its centre. The shaft rises from a four-sided, tapering plinth, which surmounts a single-step chamfered base.

The plinth carries the inscriptions and names in leaded lettering. The main inscription is to the north face of the plinth and reads, TO THE/ GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF THIS/ CHURCH AND PARISH/ WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES/ IN THE/ GREAT WAR./ 1914 – 1919/ “THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE”. The names of the 16 servicemen who died in the conflict are recorded on the east and west faces of the plinth, eight to each face.

The Second World War dedication is to the south face and reads, ALSO OF/ THE FOLLOWING WHO FELL/ IN THE/ SECOND WORLD WAR/ 1939 - 1945 (4 NAMES).


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, 27 February 2018.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 16 November 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/4729
War Memorials Online, accessed 27 February 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/256318

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