Summary
First World War memorial with later additions for the Second World War.
Description
First World War memorial with later additions for the Second World War.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands in a prominent location at a road junction on the village green and it replaced the original memorial of 1920, which comprised an oak cross surrounded by iron railings. The current war memorial takes the form of a stone Latin cross set upon a plinth and a square concrete base. The main dedicatory inscription on the front (west) face of the plinth reads: IN EVER GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF/ THE STANNINGFIELD MEN/ WHO DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918/ (NAMES)/ 1939 -1945/ (NAMES)/ RIP. The left return carries the inscription: OTHER CONFLICTS/ AFGHANISTAN/ (NAME).
The lower section of the plinth is inscribed: THIS MEMORIAL REPLACES THE WOODEN CROSS/ WHICH WAS ERECTED IN 1920 IN HONOUR OF THE/ 1914-1918 MEN OF THIS VILLAGE.
The memorial is enclosed by metal railings.
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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
One such memorial, a wooden Latin cross, was raised at Hoggard’s Green, north-east of Stanningfield as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 12 local men died during the First World War. It was unveiled in August 1920. It was subsequently replaced by a later memorial commemorating the First and Second World Wars. A further inscription was added in 2009 in memory of a soldier who lost his life in the conflict in Afghanistan.
A war memorial was also erected in the Church of St Nicholas at Stanningfield.
Reasons for Listing
Stanningfield War Memorial, Hoggard’s Green is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* a simple, yet fitting commemorative structure in the form of a stone Latin cross.
External Links
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
Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
[(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)