Hilgay War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled around 1920, with Second World War additions. It was restored in 2021.

Reasons for Designation

Hilgay War Memorial, unveiled around 1920, with Second World War additions, restored in 2021, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices in made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as an accomplished and well-executed Latin cross.

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.

One such memorial was raised at the junction of Church Road, High Street and Ely Road in Hilgay as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 38 local men who lost their lives during the conflict. Following the Second World War a dedication was added to commemorate the eight servicemen who died in that conflict. In the late-C20 the worn inscriptions on the base were covered with new inscription plaques.

In April 2009 a memorial to the aircrew who died when their aircraft crashed in the parish of Hilgay during the Second World War was unveiled adjacent to the First World War memorial. Its relatively recent date, however, precludes it from this listing.

In 2021, the memorial was restored by Fairhaven Stone Ltd, with new kerbstones, fence posts and chain link fence installed to the gravelled enclosure within which it stands.

Details

First World War memorial, unveiled around 1920, with Second World War additions. It was restored in 2021.

The kerbstones, fence posts and chain link fence that form the enclosure within which the memorial stands date from 2021 and are thus excluded from the listing. Also excluded is the free-standing memorial plaque which was erected in 2009 to commemorate the aircrews who died when their aircraft crashed in Hilgay during the Second World War.

MATERIALS: stone.

PLAN: it is octagonal on plan.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial, which stands in a prominent position within a triangular-shaped grassed area at the junction of Church Road and High Street, takes the form of a simple Latin cross which rises from a moulded knop at the top of a tapering octagonal shaft. The shaft stands on a square plinth which in turn stands on a three-stepped octagonal base. The whole stands within an early-C21 octagonal gravelled enclosure bounded by kerb stones and fence posts, the latter supporting a contemporary chain link fence.

The First Word War dedicatory inscription is carved on a modern plaque on the west side of the plinth and reads: This Cross was erected/ in honour of the men of / Hilgay who gave their / lives for their King and / Country in the Great War / 1914 - 1919.' Modern black plaques on the north, south and west sides bear the names of the men who died.

The Second World War dedication is found on the memorial's base and includes the dates '1939 - 1945' carved in shallow relief on the west face of the top step while the names of the men who died are inscribed on the north-west and south-west faces of the middle step.

Sources

Websites
Information on Hilgay War Memorial from the Imperial War Museum's War Memorials Register, accessed 19 July 2021 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/53407
Information on Hilgay War Memorial from the War Memorials Online website, accessed 19 July 2021 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/255929/

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