Aylesbury War Memorial, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Summary

First World War memorial, 1921, with additions commemorating the Second World War and the Falklands War.

Description

First World War memorial, 1921, with additions commemorating the Second World War and the Falklands War.

MATERIALS: Portland stone, with bronze plaques and lamp posts.

PLAN: the war memorial is situated at the NW end of Market Square, at the junction with Market Street. It occupies an oval plot facing SE.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial consists of a cross flanked by low, curved screen walls bearing commemorative plaques. In front, on the SW, is an oval paved and grassed area, enclosed on its SE edge by two plinths with bronze lamp posts, and cast iron posts linked by chains.

The cross, based on the Imperial War Graves Commission ‘Cross of Sacrifice’, has an octagonal shaft and cross bar, bearing a bronze sword. It has an ogee-moulded base and stands on a multi-tiered plinth, the base to which bears commemorative plaques and adjoins the low, concave walls, also bearing plaques. The walls have wide moulded copings, and terminate in stout piers.

The front face of the plinth bears a plaque with floriated decoration and a cross and scroll, incorporating 1914 and 1918, with the inscription ‘THEIR MEMORY / LIVES / FOR EVERMORE’. The names of the 300 fallen from the First World War are on eight bronze plaques affixed to the SE faces of the wall. The names, in raised lettering, are arranged in two columns per panel, alphabetical by surname followed by initials and rank.

The two sides of the plinth each have a plaque bearing the names of the 108 fallen men from the Second World War. Immediately above each of the plaques, on the sloping surface, are smaller plaques inscribed ‘1939-1945’. On the NE end of the screen wall is a single plaque inscribed ‘THE FALKLANDS CAMPAIGN 1982 / COCKTON SJ LCPL’.

The enclosed area in front of the monument is paved and has inset pebbles and two grassed areas separated by central footpath. Two square plinths with moulded bases and cornices each hold a bronze lamp post with acanthus-leaf bases, columns with laurel, and capitals, with a glass, flame-shaped shade. The cast iron posts linking the chain barrier are square on plan and have two stages of mouldings and spherical finials.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 5 June 2017.

History

The great wave of memorial building in the years following the First World War honoured the many thousands of troops lost, marking the great impact of the international conflict at a local level. Memorials provided a focal point for grieving communities, whose dead were often not repatriated. One such memorial was raised at Aylesbury as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 300 members of the local community whose lives were lost.

The memorial was designed by Mr F Taylor ARIBA, a local architect, and is based on the ‘Cross of Sacrifice’ designed by Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission in 1918. The builders were Webster and Cannon of Aylesbury, and the metalwork was undertaken by SB Goslin and Son, a London-based foundry.

The memorial was paid for by public subscription, which included an anonymous donation of £180, and the total cost was £1,930 6s; the majority of the labour was undertaken by ex-servicemen.

The memorial was unveiled on 15 September 1921 by the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Robert Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, in a service conducted by the Reverend VL Whitechurch, Rural Dean of Aylesbury and noted author. An account in the Bucks Herald describes an impressive ceremony, and the memorial as one of the ‘most artistic and yet simples designs for many miles round’ (17 September 1921). Blomfield disagreed, and was critical of the monument both for the modification of his design and the execution: 'there is a deplorable example ... in the market-place at Aylesbury. The local man has done his best, but he has simply murdered my Cross' (1932).

The memorial was re-dedicated after the Second World War, on 20 May 1951, in the presence of local dignitaries, and plaques were added to record the names of the dead. An additional plaque commemorates Simon J Cockton, one of the crew of four of an army helicopter that was shot down by 'friendly fire' over the Falkland Islands on 5 June 1982.

Changes have been made to the paved central part of the memorial, including the introduction of grass, and the original spherical shades of the lamp posts have been replaced with flame-shaped lights.

Reasons for Listing

Aylesbury War Memorial, 1921, 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 comm
unity, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: an adaptation of Blomfield’s Cross of Sacrifice, aggrandised and monumentalised by the local architect;
* Group value: one of a number of listed monuments in the vicinity, with a strong visual relationship with a number of listed buildings.

External Links

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