Stanton under Bardon War Memorial

Summary

A war memorial, erected in 1953, to commemorate those who died in the First World War, and the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial in Stanton under Bardon 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 church’s community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20, unusually erected after the Second World War, to commemorate those lost in the First and Second World Wars.

Architectural interest:
* for its design, a dignified 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 three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. In memory of the men who fell in the First World War, Stanton under Bardon erected a series of war memorial lamp posts, one of which had a plaque affixed to it in dedication.

After the Second World War, Stanton under Bardon war memorial was set up in a prominent location outside the Church of St Mary and All Saints (1908-1909), broaching the churchyard wall, facing the main street through the village. The memorial was dedicated and unveiled on 6 September 1953; the structure was dedicated by the Archdeacon of Loughborough, and unveiled by Brigadier I L Wight, DSO. It commemorates eight local servicemen who died in the First World War, and six men who fell in the Second World War.

Details

A war memorial, erected in 1953, to commemorate those who died in the First World War, and the Second World War.

MATERIALS
Concrete, with stone wall and bronze plaques.

DESCRIPTION
The memorial comprises a concrete Latin cross approximately 3m high, with a sword of sacrifice in relief to the cross head, on a tapering square-sectioned shaft with moulded foot, on a two-tiered polygonal base which would be octagonal if it protruded through, rather than stopped at, the rear supporting wall. The plinth bears the inscriptions on affixed bronze plaques.

The inscriptions read: THESE DIED IN WAR/ THAT WE AT PEACE MIGHT LIVE/ THESE GAVE THEIR BEST./ SO WE OUR BEST SHOULD GIVE// NAMES OF THE FALLEN/ 1914 - 1918/ (NAMES)// 1939 - 1945/ (NAMES).

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES
The memorial sits within a local stone enclosure with a two-stepped platform leading to the cross.

Sources

Websites
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register: Stanton-under-Bardon Cross, accessed 28.05.2020 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/37569
Leicestershire County Council’s Leicestershire & Rutland War Memorials Project: Memorial Cross, St Mary and All Saints Churchyard - Stanton under Bardon, accessed 28.05.2020 from http://www.leicestershirewarmemorials.co.uk/war/memorials/view/1077
Stanton under Bardon at War Memorials Online, accessed 28.05.2020 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/220365/

Other
Brochure for the service of dedication and unveiling of the War Memorial at Stanton under Bardon, 6 September 1953

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