Summary
First World War Memorial, 1920s.
Description
First World War Memorial, 1920s.
MATERIALS: constructed from sandstone.
PLAN: the memorial stands on the southern side of the road to the west of the village of Shucknall.
DESCRIPTION: it comprises a plain Latin cross with a gently tapering octagonal shaft on a chamfered square plinth and single-stepped octagonal base.
The main inscription, incised on the north face of the plinth, reads: ‘IN MEMORY OF / THE / MEN OF THIS PARISH / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR KING / AND COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WARS./ 1914 – 1918’. The names of the fallen are on the east and west faces and the base, and on the south face is a dedication to a local soldier killed in the Falkland Islands.
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 the official policy of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
One such memorial was raised at Shucknall as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. Details of its erection are unknown, though it is very likely to have been funded by public subscription, and was in place by the 1927, when the Ordnance Survey 25-inch map was revised.
The names of one parishioner who fell during the Falklands conflict was subsequently added to the memorial.
Reasons for Listing
Shucknall War Memorial 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 sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* a dignified and well-executed Latin cross monument.
External Links
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Recommended Books
Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)