War Memorials Listed Ahead of Armistice Day
Ahead of Armistice Day, First World War memorials in England have been listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.
Many of the war memorials also have plaques commemorating those lost during the Second World War.
Built in the aftermath of the First World War (1914 to 1918), the recently listed memorials are among tens of thousands erected across England in memory of the many people who lost their lives in the conflict. In place of graves, these memorials became focal points for local communities to mourn and honour their dead.
Remembering the fallen for future generations
We’d love for people to find out more about their local war memorial by adding their photos and information to the National Heritage List for England.
Discovering the stories behind the names on listed war memorials and contributing new information to List entries ensures that the sacrifices of those individuals are never forgotten. These poignant war memorials tell the stories of local communities at war and must be protected for future generations.
Looking after your local war memorial
War memorials are important landmarks for communities, standing as a testament to local people who made the ultimate sacrifice in war and conflict. To help local communities take care of their war memorials we’ve just released new guidance which can be found on our Looking After War Memorials webpage.
Newly listed war memorials
Discover memorials newly listed in your area:
East of England
War memorial at St Michael's Church, Bishop Stortford (Grade II listed)
The war memorial at St Michael’s Church in Bishop’s Stortford features an ornately carved 15th-century lantern cross which previously stood at the south of the church.
The lantern cross was removed around 1643 and stored in a number of places, including under the church floor and in the belfry, until it was repurposed as a war memorial in the early-20th century and re-erected north of the church.
The war memorial, dedicated to 38 men of the parish who lost their lives in the First World War, was paid for by public subscription and unveiled on 23 June 1920.
Barnham war memorial, Thetford (Grade II listed)
Barnham war memorial was created in 1919 as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 19 men of the parish who lost their lives in the First World War.
The memorial, made by stonemason R H Hall, was unveiled on 28 August 1919. The ceremony was attended by Mrs Fitzhugh, wife of the Rector of Barnham, who dedicated the memorial.
Following the Second World War a further plaque was added to commemorate the three men from the parish who died during that conflict.
Worlington war memorial, Suffolk (Grade II listed)
Worlington war memorial was erected by H G Neville and Sons and was unveiled on Thursday 4 March 1920 by Major-General the Honourable J E Lindley.
The white marble memorial features an obelisk with a three-tiered pedestal on a concrete plinth.
The memorial is engraved with the names of 12 men from the village who lost their lives during the First World War together with 33 men who served and returned from that conflict.
The names of the two parishioners who lost their lives during the Second World War were subsequently added to the memorial.
Kedington war memorial, Suffolk (Grade II listed)
Kedington war memorial was the work of mason Edward Coote Green. Green’s 18-year-old son William Frank was killed in action in France in 1918 and is memorialised on another of his father’s memorials at Haverhill, which is also listed at Grade II.
Dedicated to 18 local men who lost their lives in the First World War, the war memorial at Kedington consists of an octagonal shaft, pedestal and base, with relief-carved roses on the arms of the cross.
Kedington War Memorial was unveiled on Sunday 20 March 1921 by Brigadier-General J A Coxhead CB and dedicated by Reverend Canon G Perry. It stands in a prominent position in the churchyard, to the south of the Grade I listed Church of St Peter and St Paul.
Stoke-by-Clare war memorial, Sudbury, Suffolk (Grade II listed)
Stoke-by-Clare war memorial is located in the garden of the former village primary school.
It commemorates the 107 local men who served in the First World War. Of those who served, 27 are known to have lost their lives in service, while 80 served and returned.
The memorial was dedicated by the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and unveiled by Field Marshal Sir William R Robertson, Bart., GCB, GCMG, KCVO, DSO on 23 January 1921. One of the most important British Officers of the Great War, he was the only soldier to rise from private to Field Marshal and Chief of the Imperial General Staff – the head of the British Army.
Following the Second World War, the names of three local men who fell in that conflict were added to the memorial.
Wortham war memorial, Suffolk (Grade II listed)
The war memorial at Wortham, a Latin cross on a stepped base, is situated in the grounds of St Mary’s Church.
It was built by J Cooley and Son and was unveiled on 24 July 1921 by Brigadier-General Lord Playfair CVO and dedicated by Rev J F E Fanning.
It commemorates 35 local men who lost their lives in the First World War. The names of three parishioners who lost their lives during the Second World War were subsequently added.
Woodbridge war memorial, Suffolk (Grade II listed)
Woodbridge war memorial is located in the Memorial Garden on Market Hill in Woodbridge.
Built by Mr A C Stephenson, it takes the form of a limestone Latin cross on a polished black granite octagonal column, resting on a plinth with a three-stepped base.
The memorial in Woodbridge was unveiled on either 7 or 11 November 1920 by the Right Honourable the Earl of Stradbroke and is dedicated to the eight local men who lost their lives in the First World War. More names were added after the Second World War.
Hilgay war memorial, Downham Market, Norfolk (Grade II listed)
Hilgay war memorial, a simple Latin cross, stands in a prominent position in the village and commemorates 38 local men who lost their lives during the First World War.
Following the Second World War, a dedication was added to commemorate eight servicemen who died in that conflict.
In the late-20th century, the worn inscriptions on the base were covered with new inscription plaques. Hilgay war memorial was restored and rededicated earlier this year.
Aylmerton war memorial, Norfolk (Grade II listed)
Aylmerton war memorial, a Latin cross with a carved sword and laurel wreath, is situated in the churchyard of Grade II* listed St John the Baptist Church.
The memorial was constructed in 1921 by Major H N Bridgewater as a testament to the sacrifices made by the local community and four local men who lost their lives in the First World War, and was dedicated by the rector, Reverend F H Matthews.
The names of five local men who served and died in the Second World War were later added to the memorial.
Hunsdon war memorial, East Hertfordshire (Grade II listed)
Hunsdon war memorial, featuring a granite Celtic wheel-head cross, was created by Mr C Smith in the memory of 18 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
It was unveiled on 21 November 1921 and dedicated by Bishop Hodges. Historic photographs show that it was once enclosed by low posts and chains, but these have since been removed.
A plaque later added to the memorial commemorates seven local people who died in the Second World War.
Lincolnshire
Former Skegness Convalescent Home (Grade II listed)
The Former Skegness Convalescent Home was designed in 1926 by William Henry Ansell (1873-1959) and built by the National Deposit Friendly Society (NDFS) as a memorial to members who fell in the First World War. It was the third such war memorial home erected by the NDFS.
As reported in The Times (30 May 1927), the home was opened by Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Princess Marie Louise, accompanied by Neville Chamberlain who was then the Health Minister.
The building became the Town Hall in 1964 when it was opened by Princess Anne. Since then, an extension has been built onto the west pavilion.
North Cotes war memorial (Grade II listed)
The North Cotes war memorial, taking the form of a tall granite obelisk, is located on the green next to the Grade II* listed Church of St Nicholas, which has a scheduled medieval cross within its churchyard.
The striking memorial is dedicated to those who fought in the First World War and commemorates 25 men who served in the conflict and the three who sacrificed their lives.
Covenham St Bartholomew war memorial (Grade II listed)
The Covenham St Bartholomew war memorial, unveiled on 12 September 1920, is located in St Bartholomew's churchyard overlooking Main Street, Covenham St Bartholomew. It was paid for by public subscription and crafted and erected by Mawer Brothers of Louth.
The memorial commemorates five individuals who fell in the First World War, and 18 who served in the conflict, including one woman, Sister Lamming.
A granite slab was later added at the foot of the west elevation to include four additional names, two who served in the First World War, and two who served in the Second World War.
North West
Irlam and Cadishead war memorial, Irlam, Salford, Greater Manchester (Grade II listed)
Irlam and Cadishead war memorial was originally constructed to commemorate 137 local men who died during the First World War.
Paid for by subscription, it was built on land donated for Prince's Park by George Thomas JP, the owner of a local engineering business and Irlam Hall. He personally commissioned John Cassidy to produce a bronze sculpture of Winged Victory which was unveiled on 7 April 1921.
After the Second World War, the memorial’s structure was in poor condition and demolished. A new memorial, created by Henry Nurse, retained the original Winged Victory figure. It was flanked by the original plaques commemorating the fallen of the First World War plus two new plaques dedicated to the 94 local men and one woman who died during the Second World War.
Thornton Cleveleys war memorial, Wyre, Lancashire (Grade II listed)
Thornton Cleveleys war memorial, sitting within an enclosed memorial garden, recognises 84 members of the local community who lost their lives during the First World War. It was unveiled on 11 November 1923.
The memorial, designed by Albert Toft, is a life-sized bronze figure of an infantryman. He is shown bowing in respect, his hands resting on the butt of his reversed Lee-Enfield rifle with a Brodie steel helmet and 1917 issue ‘small box’ respirator spilling out of its case by his side.
Following the Second World War, three separate granite memorials in the form of open books were placed to the front and sides of the memorial; these recorded the names of 113 deaths from that conflict, including three women.
Hensingham war memorial, Hensingham, Cumbria (Grade II listed)
Hensingham war memorial was built on land donated by the Lowther family as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by local servicemen. Located in a half-hexagonal walled plot in the churchyard of the Church of St John, it was unveiled on 27 September 1925 by the Cumberland Artillery’s Colonel D. J. Mason DSO.
The memorial’s simple Scandinavian interlace design was created by William Gershom Collingwood, an artist responsible for a number of war memorials across Cumbria. One named serviceman - Captain Blair DSO - was a hero of the 1910 Wellington Colliery Pit Explosion in Whitehaven. He was awarded the Edward Medal for his courageous rescue efforts in one of the largest mining disasters in West Cumberland.
Yorkshire
Goathland war memorial, North Yorkshire (Grade II listed)
The Goathland war memorial stands in the village green, in the heart of the conservation area in picturesque Goathland.
Built in the aftermath of the First World War, the memorial was funded by subscriptions raised from the village. The names of 18 local men are engraved on it – 12 who lost their lives in the First World War and a further six who were added after the Second World War.
It bears the moving inscription: “TRUE LOVE BY LIFE, TRUE LOVE BY DEATH IS TRIED: LIVE THOU FOR ENGLAND. WE FOR ENGLAND DIED.”
The village itself has a strong sense of the past, with a number of listed buildings which make it a popular filming location. Goathland featured as the fictional village of Aidensfield in the television series Heartbeat, while the charming station appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
South East
War memorial at former St Aubyns School, Rottingdean, Brighton (Grade II listed)
The war memorial is situated in the north-west corner of the former St Aubyns School playing fields. It serves as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by former pupils of the school who died in the First World War. It is carved: "In loving memory of brave St Aubyns boys who gave their lives for their country in the Great War 1914-1918."
St Aubyns was a boys’ preparatory school founded in 1895 and based in a repurposed house (Grade II listed) on Rottingdean High Street, until the school closed in 2013.
A chapel, added to the school in 1912, contains memorial plaques and photographs commemorating former pupils killed in both World Wars, serving as a counterpart to the memorial on the playing fields.
One of the names inscribed on the memorial is J Kipling, Rudyard Kipling’s son, John. The Kipling family lived in Rottingdean at The Elms (Grade II listed) between 1897 and 1902. Rudyard Kipling’s 1916 poem ‘My Boy Jack’ is thought to have been partly inspired by John’s disappearance and presumed death at the Battle of Loos in 1915.
Cassington war memorial, Oxfordshire (Grade II listed)
Cassington war memorial, on the east side of The Green to the south of the Old Vicarage, was commissioned by a former vicar of the village, Reverend C G Paget. Reverend Paget lost three sons during the First World War, and their initials appear on the memorial together.
The memorial is in the form of a crucifix set on a three-tiered octagonal base. On the front face is a sculpture of Christ Crucified and on the other side is the Madonna and Child, both by Scottish Arts and Crafts sculptor, Alec Miller.
It commemorates 16 individuals who died in the First World War and, added later, the names of three who fell during the Second World War.
The memorial was designed by a local architect, F E Howard of Oxford and built by the monumental masons, W H Axtell and Son of Regent Street, Oxford. It was completed by February 1919.
Restoration of the memorial was carried out in 2018 thanks to a project funded by Cassington Parish Council with a grant from the War Memorials Trust. This involved cleaning, repointing and some minor replacement of stonework.
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