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Latitude: 51.2402 / 51°14'24"N
Longitude: 0.5167 / 0°30'59"E
OS Eastings: 575768
OS Northings: 152012
OS Grid: TQ757520
Mapcode National: GBR PRL.5G5
Mapcode Global: VHJML.X302
Plus Code: 9F326GR8+3M
Entry Name: Loose War Memorial
Listing Date: 13 July 2016
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1436297
ID on this website: 101436297
Location: Loose, Maidstone, Kent, ME15
County: Kent
District: Maidstone
Civil Parish: Loose
Built-Up Area: Maidstone
Traditional County: Kent
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Kent
Tagged with: Memorial
First World War memorial, 1922, with later additions.
First World War memorial, 1922, with later additions.
MATERIALS: Portland stone cross, bronze sword and Aberdeen granite plaques.
DESCRIPTION: Loose War Memorial stands within the extension of All Saints’ Churchyard on Church Street. It consists of a Portland stone Latin cross with a reversed bronze sword on its face, which is based on Sir Reginald Blomfield’s ‘Cross of Sacrifice’ for the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission. The cross rises from a square pedestal which stands on a two stepped hexagonal Portland stone base.
The square pedestal carries four Aberdeen granite panels, one on each face. These are inscribed with the names of the fallen and the principal dedication which reads TO THE/ GLORY OF GOD/ AND/ IN GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF THE/ MEN OF LOOSE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918. At the top of each frame for the plaques is a cross within a circle carved in relief.
The Second World War names are inscribed on two plaques angled across the steps of the memorial and are preceded by the dates 1939 – 1945.
This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 30 November 2016.
Loose War Memorial was unveiled in July 1922, by Private Harold Harris who had served in Flanders with the East Kent Regiment and had suffered the loss of his sight during the First World War. The memorial was designed by A W Smith FRIBA and erected by H Cole of Broughton Monchelsea.
It commemorates the 41 local servicemen who fell in the First World War. Following the Second World War a further 24 names of the fallen from that conflict were added. In 2011, an additional tablet with four names was added to the memorial, with the help of funding from War Memorials Trust.
Loose War Memorial, unveiled in 1922, 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: an elegant Latin stone cross, based on Sir Reginald Blomfield's 'Cross of Sacrifice' design for the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission.
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
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