Summary

War memorial, erected in 1921.

Description

War memorial, erected in 1921.

MATERIALS: constructed of stone with a copper statue of Christ.

DESCRIPTION: located to the rear of the Roman Catholic Church of St George (Grade II*) the war memorial comprises a stone calvary cross surmounted on a pedestal, with an open triangular pediment above. The whole is set on a four-stepped, square base. The copper sculpture of Christ is on the south face of the cross, and above is a copper scroll inscribed with the initials ‘INRI’. This stands for Iesus Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm and translates as Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

On the south face of the pedestal is the inscription:

A. M. D. G. / HONOUR AND PRAY FOR / THE CATHOLIC / SOLDIERS AND
SAILORS / OF WORCESTER WHO FELL IN / THE GREAT WAR, 1914 – 1918 / (NAMES).

The inscription includes the names of a major and two captains. To the other faces of the pedestal are the names of the 22 Catholic servicemen who died in the conflict.

On the south face of the third step of the base is inscribed the biblical reference:

AS CHRIST LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US SO THEY LAID / DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR THE BRETHREN 1 JOHN III 16.

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, 6 March 2017.

History

The great age of memorial building was in the aftermath of the First World War. This war memorial was erected in 1921 to the south-west of the entrance to the Roman Catholic Church of St George, and is shown in this location on the 3rd (1928) and 4th (1940) edition Ordnance Survey maps. In 2005-6 it was relocated to the rear of the church in the Garden of Remembrance.

The inscription on the war memorial includes the initials A. M. D. G. which stands for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (‘For the Greater Glory of God’) and is the motto of the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits were responsible for the parish until it was handed over to the Archdiocese of Birmingham in 1990.

Reasons for Listing

The war memorial located to the rear of the Roman Catholic Church of St George in Worcester is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: it has strong cultural and historical significance within both a local and national context as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifices it made in the First World War;
* Architectural interest: an accomplished and well-realised war memorial which takes the form of a calvary cross;
* Group value: with the Roman Catholic Church of St George (Grade II*).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478029

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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