Summary
A First World War memorial, unveiled 1922; altered after the Second World War.
Reasons for Designation
Delabole War Memorial 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:
* for its design, a well-executed Cross of Sacrifice.
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 750,000 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 Delabole, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 31 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Out of a population of 1,258, 309 men from Delabole served in the First World War. 31 were to not return. The war memorial was instigated by a Committee, and the scheme (including the garden in which the memorial stands) cost £250. The memorial and garden were unveiled on 11 February 1922 by Sir George Croydon Marks, MP for the Northern Division of Cornwall and who had served at the Ministry of Munitions in the War.
Following the Second World War, a dedication was added to commemorate the men who fell in that conflict.
Details
A First World War memorial, unveiled 1922; altered after the Second World War.
MATERIALS: Granite.
DESCRIPTION: The memorial takes the form of a Cross of Sacrifice, with a relief-carved sword superimposed on the arms and shaft of a Celtic Cross. The cross stands on a tapering rough-hewn plinth, on a two-stepped platform surrounded by paving. The principal (east) face of the plinth is inscribed IN MEMORY OF DELABOLE MEN / WHO DIED FOR / GOD, KING AND COUNTRY / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 – 1918, followed in lead lettering by the names of the 31 men who were lost in that War. A granite slab was added to the steps of the memorial after the Second World War, inscribed with the names of the nine men who fell in that conflict, under the dates 1939 – 1945.
The war memorial stands in an enclosed memorial park, in the heart of Delabole, raised above the main road. The park was built for the unveiling of the memorial, and has since been added to with various memorial plaques, including the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War, and a Millennium clock tower on the road edge.
