Summary

First World War memorial with later additions for the Second World War. Erected circa 1920, with the names of the fallen of the Second World War added after 1945.

Description

First World War memorial with later additions for the Second World War. Erected circa 1920, with the names of the fallen of the Second World War added after 1945.

MATERIALS: carved from stone.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial stands in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels (Sunnyside) Church. It is S of the chancel of the Grade II-listed church. The memorial comprises a budded cross set upon a capital at the head of a tapering shaft. It rises from a moulded square plinth on a three-tier stepped base. On the plinth is a weathered inscription, which is recorded as 1914-1919/ TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY.

A further inscription commemorates the fallen of the Second World War which reads GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS,/ THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE/ FOR HIS FRIENDS. John 15:13/ 1938 - 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, 23 November 2017.

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, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

One such memorial was raised in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels Church (now known as 'Sunnyside Church') in circa 1920, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. After the Second World War the names of 13 residents who died during that conflict were added to the plinth.

Reasons for Listing

The war memorial at St Michael and All Angels (Sunnyside) Church, Berkhamsted, of circa 1920, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as a war memorial that has strong cultural and historic significance within both a local and national context;
* Commemorative: it forms a poignant reminder of the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made during the First and Second World Wars;
* Design: an elegant budded cross set upon a tapering shaft, moulded plinth and stepped base;
* Group value: with the Grade II-listed St Michael and All Angels (Sunnyside) Church.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66477763

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)