Braunston in Rutland War Memorial

Summary

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

Reasons for Designation

Braunston in Rutland War Memorial, which is situated in All Saints 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 this local community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as a detailed and well-executed limestone cross.

Group value:

* with the Grade II*-listed Church of All Saints and the Grade II-listed The Cottage and Grade II-listed Bridge over the River Gwash nearby.

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

Braunston in Rutland War Memorial was situated just within the churchyard at All Saints, close to the churchyard edge and facing a triangular green at a road junction. The memorial was unveiled in August 1921. The memorial commemorates 12 local servicemen who fell in the First World War (and one servicewoman whose name was added in 2015) and two men who fell in the Second World War.

In April 2015, the name of Gladys Walter, WRAF, who died of pneumonia 11 November 1918, was added to the memorial. Walter is officially commemorated by a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone in the churchyard. A local campaign aimed to have it duplicated on the village memorial.

Details

First World War memorial, 1921.

MATERIALS: limestone.

DESCRIPTION: Braunston in Rutland War Memorial is located in the churchyard of All Saints’s Church, Church Street, Braunston in Rutland. It is prominently situated by the churchyard edge, facing the road and visible across a triangular green opposite. It comprises a c.3.8m limestone Latin cross with lobed terminals to the arms, on a table-collared shaft that tapers and is of octagonal section transposing to a four-sided moulded foot. This surmounts a tapering four-sided plinth with moulded cap and corners and recessed inscription panels. This stands atop a two-tiered octagonal base.

The inscription is in incised lettering and reads: LEST/ WE/ FORGET// TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN GRATEFUL/ MEMORY OF THE MEN FROM/ THIS VILLAGE WHO MADE THE/ SUPREME SACRIFICE/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918// (NAMES)// 1939 – 1945/ (NAMES).

Sources

Websites
Rutland Remembers, accessed 2 April 2018 from http://www.rutlandremembers.org/location/958/-braunston-war-memorial-all-saints-church
Leicestershire County Council’s Leicestershire & Rutland War Memorials Project, accessed 2 April 2018 from http://www.leicestershirewarmemorials.co.uk/war/memorials/view/187
War Memorial Register, accessed 2 April 2018 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/37756

Other
‘Braunston War Memorial’, Grantham Journal, Saturday 13 August 1921, p8

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