Eastwood Ambulance Training Corps War Memorial, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire

Summary

First World War memorial wheel-head cross, erected in 1920 in a walled memorial garden, with stone memorial bench and Sherwood Foresters memorial comprising a stone cross and bronze plaque. A slate tablet was added following the Second World War to commemorate one member of the Corps who died in that conflict.

Description

MATERIALS: Freestone and granite crosses, slate and bronze plaques, stone walls.

DESCRIPTION: The war memorial garden is located to the north-west side of the junction of Nottingham Road and Edward Road. The garden is enclosed by coursed and coped stone walls to the north-east and south-west. The front wall on the south-east side is formed of stone blocks into which is carved, either side of the garden gate, the inscription SO THEY PASSED OVER AND ALL THE TRUMPETS/ SOUNDED FOR THEM ON THE OTHER SIDE. The raised beds inside the garden are defined by coursed stone walls.

The central memorial comprises a tall stone wheel-head cross in the Celtic style with a reversed sword carved in low relief to the front face of the cross head and shaft. To the foot of the cross shaft a shallow shield encloses an arrow in flight, carved in low relief. Below that the inscription NON SIBI [‘Not for self’] is carved in low relief. The cross rises from a tapering pedestal that stands on a plinth. The whole is raised on a large concrete base, approached by a flight of stone steps to the front.

The principal dedicatory inscription is recorded in gilded incised lettering on a slate plaque inset to the front face of the pedestal. It reads TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY OF THE/ CADETS OF THE EASTWOOD AMBULANCE TRAINING CORPS,/ WHO VOLUNTEERED FOR SERVICE AND FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918/ (NAMES)/ AND MANY EX MEMBERS OF THE CORPS. The commemorated names are recorded with rank, regiment, and the places where the men served and died. A later slate plaque, inserted into the front face of the plinth, bears an incised inscription reading THE WORLD WAR: 1939-1945/ (NAME) THE SEVEN SEAS 1915-1942/ ALSO EX-MEMBERS OF THE CORPS.

A trapezoidal stone pedestal built into the walls at the south-west corner of the garden bears a plain Latin granite cross. On the front face of this pedestal, flanked by two plain stone pillars, is the large bronze plaque commemorating the Sherwood Foresters. The inscription, including 45th FOOT and 95th FOOT flanking the regimental badge to the top of the plaque, reads ON CRICH HILL A MONUMENT IS ERECTED/ IN MEMORY OF/ 11,409 OF ALL RANKS OF/ THE SHERWOOD FORESTERS/ (NOTTINGHAMSHIRE AND DERBYSHIRE REGT)/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR KING AND THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919/ WHOSE NAMES/ ARE RECORDED WITH GRATITUDE AND LOVE IN/ BOOKS OF REMEMBRANCE/ DEPOSITED IN/ NOTTINGHAM AND DERBY/ AND ALSO IN HONOUR OF/ ALL THEIR COMRADES WHO GLORIOUSLY SERVED/ IN 32 BATTALIONS OF THE SAME REGIMENT/ TO THE NUMBER OF/ 140,000. Under this bronze plaque, a small slate plaque with a ogee curved top is let into the stone plinth below. The plaque is ornamented with an incised reversed dagger and shield enclosing an arrow in flight, and inscription reading NON SIBI/ THIS MEMORIAL WAS/ ERECTED BY THE/ EASTWOOD AMBULANCE/ TRAINING CORPS/ AD 1927.

A stone bench inserted into the north-west end of the south-west wall and accessed from the street includes the replacement slate plaque (2002) recording the charitable work of Jane Roberts. Below the Eastwood coat of arms, the incised and gilded inscription reads THIS SEAT WAS PLACED HERE BY THE EASTWOOD AMBULANCE TRAINING CORPS/ IN MEMORY OF JANE ROBERTS/ WHO RAISED OVER ONE HUNDRED POUNDS FOR THE CORPS FUNDS/ BY DEVOTING HER LEISURE TIME FOR MANY YEARS TO MAKING SMALL ARTICLES/ AND SELLING THEM FOR A FEW PENCE/ SHE WAS BORN IN EASTWOOD AND DIED DECEMBER 1922, AGED 74 YEARS.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 31 October 2023 to update a reference, correct a reference to selected sources and amend the date of construction.

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 which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

One such memorial was raised at Eastwood, in a small memorial garden, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by seven members of the local Ambulance Training Corps unit, who lost their lives in the First World War.

The Eastwood Cadet Corps Institute was established in December 1901 to provide social and educational facilities for local youths aged from 16 to 31 years. With an associated Boys Life Brigade for children aged 12 to 16, the Institute arranged a range of activities throughout the year including Ambulance drills three times a week. By January 1927 the organisation had become the Eastwood Ambulance Training Corps. A number of its members and ex-members served during the First World War.

The war memorial cross was erected in 1920 by members of the Training Corps. It commemorates seven men who died, including two men who died after the 11 November 1918 Armistice with Germany. The seven had served in different regiments, but two appear to have used their medical training. Private Horace Goff (d 1916) joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and was serving in 74th Field Ambulance Unit on the Somme when he died whilst attending a wounded man. Private James Wing (d 1918) also spent time on medical duties as a stretcher-bearer in 1917.

In addition to the central wheel-head cross, the memorial garden incorporates a granite cross and bronze memorial plaque commemorating the Sherwood Foresters (the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment): this is Eastwood's copy of the Sherwood Foresters' plaque. At the unveiling in 1923 of the regimental memorial, the Crich Stand (Grade II*), General Smith-Dorrien had expressed his wish that each settlement in the two counties should have a plaque duplicating the details of the plaques at Derby Guildhall and St Peter's Church Nottingham commemorating the 11,409 servicemen of the regiment who died in the First World War.

The memorial garden wall includes a small bench with a plaque commemorating the support of Jane Roberts (d1922): she had raised over £100 for the Ambulance Training Corps funds. The original plaque recording the dedication to Jane Roberts was replaced in 2002.

Following the Second World War a slate tablet was added to the central wheel-head cross to commemorate one member of the Corps who died in that conflict.

Reasons for Listing

The Eastwood Ambulance Training Corps War Memorial Cross, memorial garden walls and ancillary memorials, situated in Eastwood, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a striking and well-executed stone wheel-head cross.

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the sacrifice of members of the Eastwood Ambulance Training Corps during the First World War, and to the service of other members of the local community, both military and civilian.

External Links

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