Summary

First World War memorial, designed by Louis Frederick Roslyn and unveiled on 26 October 1924, with Second World War additions.

Description

MATERIALS: Cornish granite.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is located on Edmonton Green and it comprises a
four-stepped base surmounted by plinth and cenotaph. The front face bears a bronze Sword of Sacrifice with a wreath at the top of the hilt.

The inscription on the front face reads: TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD/ ERECTED/ BY THE PEOPLE OF/ EDMONTON/ IN LOVING AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF/ HER SONS WHO FELL/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ AND THE WORLD WAR/ 1939 – 1945/ GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS.

The side faces carry the inscriptions: THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE and PASS NOT WITHOUT REMEMBRANCE.

The memorial is surrounded by a stone kerb with low stone posts and connecting chain-link fence. The two main posts at the entrance also bear a bronze wreath.

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 the country, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and 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 Edmonton Green as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The Tottenham Herald seems to have instigated the campaign in 1923 to get the memorial built after a previous attempt to raise sufficient funds had foundered.

Edmonton Council committee minutes from 26 June 1923 refer to a letter to the Committee Chair from the editor of the Tottenham Herald referring to a groundswell of interest in a memorial in Edmonton and that he was intending to publish the opinions of ‘several prominent public men’ on the ‘practicability’ of a memorial. The matter was referred to the finance committee. A fundraising memorial committee was set up in 1923 and the memorial was unveiled the following year to great fanfare from the paper. It was unveiled on 26 October 1924 by Air Vice-Marshal Sir Philip Game KCB DSO. The event was front page news on 31 October 1924 with the paper claiming credit for the memorial’s construction.

The war memorial was designed by Louis Frederick Roslyn (born Roselieb, (1878-1940) with the masons W Griffiths and Sons. Roslyn was a London-born sculptor of German ancestry. At the Royal Academy schools he was awarded the Landseer scholarship and a travelling scholarship, becoming a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1914, and a Fellow in 1923. In 1917 he joined the Royal Flying Corps at the School of Military Aeronautics, around which time he changed his name from Roselieb to Roslyn. Roslyn was one of the most prolific sculptors of war memorials including examples at Oswaldtwistle, Darwen, Buxton, Port Talbot and Trinidad, West Indies.

In 1968 the Tottenham Herald reported that plans to relocate the memorial were considered because of the reconfiguration of the A1010 to divert it through the old Edmonton Green, but in the end this only resulted in the reconfiguring of the surrounding enclosure. During the redevelopment of the Edmonton Green area in 1969-71 the memorial was surrounded by a large enclosure and stepped surround. The surrounding low posts and chain link fence seen in contemporary photographs were replaced with the approach from the back of the memorial down the steps away from the busy road frontage.

Reasons for Listing

Edmonton 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 this community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: an elegant and striking memorial displaying a high level of craftsmanship and good quality materials;
* Designer: as an excellent example of the work of prominent sculptor Louis Frederick Roslyn.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q59140518

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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