Summary

First World War memorial, 1935, with additions for later conflicts.

Description

Stroud War Memorial stands within Park Gardens on Slad Road. The memorial is positioned at the bottom of a slightly sloping hill just beside the footpath. Some 8m tall, it is built of Minchinhampton stone. The broad tapering column, square on plan, with clasping pilasters to each face, stands on a square stone base. The column is surmounted by a plain stone block

The inscription, incised and painted black on the front face of the memorial reads 1914 – 1918/ TO THE FALLEN./ “AT THE GOING DOWN/ OF THE SUN AND IN/ THE MORNING WE WILL/ REMEMBER THEM.”/ 1939 – 1945/ AND ALL/ SUBSEQUENT/ CAMPAIGNS.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 10 January 2017.

History

Sidney Park was a councillor and local businessman in Stroud; Park’s Drapery prominently occupied the corner of King Street and George Street and the family lived in a flat over the shop. Park’s only son, Herbert, who joined the Artists’ Rifles in 1916, was killed in France on 26 October 1917 in a training accident. He had been demonstrating the use of the Mills Bomb, a type of hand grenade. He was 23.

In October 1927 Councillor Park gave a piece of land to the north of Slad Road as a public garden, to be a memorial to his son and all those who fell during the First World War. At first there was no architectural monument: since 1920 Stroud’s residents had debated what form a civic war memorial should take. The town’s memorial was not built until 1935. It was unveiled on 23 June that year by the widow of a local soldier, assisted by two holders of the Victoria Cross. The memorial is now dedicated to those who fell in the First and Second World Wars, and commemorated the fallen of later conflicts including Northern Ireland: in October 2015 the dedication was adjusted to mark the dead of all conflicts subsequent to the First World War, regardless of location.

Reasons for Listing

Stroud War Memorial, which stands in Park Gardens, 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: an imposing and austere war memorial.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26678045

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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