Summary
First World War memorial, 1920, with Second World War additions. It was designed by Mr Charles Mee of Sproughton.
Description
First World War memorial, 1920, with Second World War additions. It was designed by Mr Charles Mee of Sproughton.
MATERIALS: Aberdeen granite and York stone.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands in a prominent roadside position at the southern edge of the churchyard to the Church of St Nicholas (listed Grade II).
It comprises a small, plain, wheel-head cross which rises from a tall, tapering cylindrical shaft. The shaft stands on a deep plinth, square on plan, which in turn sits on a square, three-stepped base, the whole standing on a single-step York stone foundation.
The dedicatory inscription is in leaded lettering on the plinth's south face and reads: 'TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF HINTLESHAM / WHOSE LIVES WERE LAID DOWN FOR US / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 - 1919 / 1939 - 1945 / THEIR NAMES, INSCRIBED HEREON / SHALL LIVE FOR EVER / IN HOPE OF A GLORIOUS RESURRECTION'.
The names of the 22 men who died in the First World War are inscribed on the east and west faces of the plinth while the north face bears the names of 10 men who died in the Second World War under the heading '1939 - 1945'.
History
The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of war 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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
One such memorial was raised at Hintlesham in Suffolk as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 24 men of the parish who died during the conflict. Designed by Mr Charles Mee of Sproughton, the memorial was unveiled on 13 June 1920 by Sir Gerald Ryan, who lived at Hintlesham Hall and was High Sheriff of Suffolk. It was dedicated by the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
Following the Second World War a dedication was added to commemorate the 10 parishioners who fell in that conflict.
Reasons for Listing
Hintlesham War Memorial, erected in 1920 to a design by Mr Charles Mee of Sproughton, with Second World War additions, 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:
* as a simple but impressive and well executed wheel-head cross.
Group value:
* with the Church of St Nicholas (listed Grade II).
External Links
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Recommended Books
ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
Period Property Manual (New Ed)
Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)