Riccall War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled on 31 July 1921, with Second World War and C21 additions.

Reasons for Designation

Riccall 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 pillar memorial demonstrating fine craftsmanship in the carved decorative features.

Group value:

* with the Grade I-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 Riccall as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Faculty for erecting the war memorial in St Mary’s churchyard was approved in October 1919. The memorial was sculpted by Mr G W Milburn of York. It was unveiled on 31 July 1921 by Lieutenant General Sir Ivor Maxse with the dedication undertaken by Reverend C Elam Greaves and Reverend J A Sheen. The memorial commemorates 20 local servicemen who died in the First World War.

Following the Second World War, the names of the five casualties from that conflict were added to the memorial.

In 2014 a new inscription was added to the memorial to mark the centenary of the First World War.

Details

First World War memorial, 1921, with Second World War and C21 additions.

DESCRIPTION: Riccall War Memorial is located at the entrance to the churchyard to the north-east of the Grade I-listed Church of St Mary.

The memorial is of Portland stone and takes the form of a tall, tapering, fluted pillar with a decorative capital and moulded band below. At the base of the pillar, to all four faces, is a relief carved wreath, while directly above is a pair of carved decorative bands. There is also carved decoration within the fluting. The pillar has a moulded foot and rises from a narrow square pedestal. This surmounts a tapering, four-sided plinth with moulded foot atop a narrow, single-step chamfered base.

An inscription wraps around the pedestal in relief lettering, reading in an anticlockwise direction and starting on the north-east face, FOR GOD/ KING/ AND/ COUNTRY. The principal inscription is to the north-east face of the plinth and reads,TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN UNDYING MEMORY/ OF THE MEN FROM RICCALL/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918./ “GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN/ THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY/ DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS”. Directly below is a later inscription, added in the C21 for the centenary of the First World War, which reads, TO MARK THE CENTENARY/ OF THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918/ NEVER FORGOTTEN. The names of the 20 men who died in the conflict are recorded on the south-east and north-west faces of the plinth. The lettering is incised and painted black.

To the south-west face of the plinth is the dedication to the Second World War, also in incised lettering, painted black, 1939-1945 (5 NAMES).

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 01 March 2018 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/31026
War Memorials Online, accessed 01 March 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/225084

Other
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, (01 August 1921), pp5

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