Summary

War memorial commemorating the fallen of the First and Second World Wars, unveiled in 1954, with an additional plaque recording a casualty of the Korean War.

Description

War memorial commemorating the fallen of the First and Second World Wars, unveiled in 1954, with an additional plaque recording a casualty of the Korean War.

MATERIALS: sandstone.

PLAN: trapezoidal comprising a wall flanked by angled stone benches with a shallow stepped approach and a paved forecourt. It faces NE towards Station Road.

The memorial comprises a stone wall with three bronze plaques and flanked by angled stone benches. The ashlar wall is classically inspired with a depressed scrolled pediment and plain fluted pilasters. The ashlar panel above the plaques is inscribed: IN MEMORIAH. Three bronze plaques attached to the wall bear the names of the fallen from both World Wars in three columns and the left-hand plaque also reads: IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE / MEN AND WOMEN OF BILLINGHAM / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE / TWO WORLD WARS. The memorial is approached by a forecourt formed of three rows of paving slabs, leading to a stepped approach for the laying of wreaths, which is set between a pair of angled plain slab-sided stone benches that are attached to either end of the memorial wall. A small brown and cream painted metal plaque is attached to the right-hand bench reads: IN MEMORY OF THOSE / WHO LOST THEIR LIVES / IN THE KOREAN CONLICT – SGT. R. LIDDLE 1ST BATTALLION DLI / DIED IN ACTION 5TH JUNE 1953.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 7 February 2017.

History

The Billingham War Memorial stands within a Garden of Remembrance, and was created as a memorial to the 297 men of the town who fell during the First and Second World Wars, together with a single soldier who fell in the Korean War. The site for the memorial gardens was chosen in 1950, and the memorial was erected in 1954, which together with the landscaping cost £2,050. It was unveiled on 19 July the same year and was dedicated by Canon F C Tymms, Vicar of Billingham; the bronze plaques were dedicated in 1960. An additional painted plaque commemorating Sgt R Liddle who died in the Korean War, was added to the end face of the right-hand stone bench. Since that time a number of additional memorials have been erected close-by in the garden of remembrance.

Reasons for Listing

Billingham War Memorial, erected 1954, 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 during the wars of the C20;

* Architectural interest: a simple but well-executed stone memorial wall incorporating stone seating recording the fallen of both World Wars and the Korean War;

* Group value: the memorial benefits from a spatial and functional group value with the adjacent ICI war memorial.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478070

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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