Approximate Location Map
Large Map »
Latitude: 50.8151 / 50°48'54"N
Longitude: -0.3717 / 0°22'18"W
OS Eastings: 514805
OS Northings: 102987
OS Grid: TQ148029
Mapcode National: GBR HMH.W98
Mapcode Global: FRA B63Y.904
Plus Code: 9C2XRJ8H+28
Entry Name: Worthing War Memorial
Listing Date: 27 June 2017
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1447552
ID on this website: 101447552
Location: Worthing, West Sussex, BN11
County: West Sussex
District: Worthing
Electoral Ward/Division: Central
Parish: Non Civil Parish
Built-Up Area: Worthing
Traditional County: Sussex
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): West Sussex
Tagged with: Statue War memorial
First World War memorial, unveiled 1921, with dates and names from later conflicts added.
First World War memorial, unveiled 1921, with dates and names from later conflicts added.
MATERIALS: stone and bronze.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial takes the form of a tall square plinth on a stepped base. On the plinth is a bronze sculpture of a soldier holding a rifle in his left hand and his helmet aloft in his right hand. At the top of the plinth on each side is a bronze wreath.
The memorial faces north-east and on the base are the following inscriptions:
OUR GLORIOUS DEAD / 1914-1918/ DUTY NOBLY DONE and below this, ALSO IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THE WAR / 1939-45
To the rear of the memorial is the following inscription:
THIS MEMORIAL / WAS ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION / RAISED THROUGH THE WORTHING GAZETTE / IT WAS UNVEILED BY / FIELD-MARSHAL SIR WILLIAM ROBERTSON BART GCB / ON 11th APRIL 1921
The faces of the plinth and base are inscribed with names (First World War: 660, Second World War: 404).
The memorial is surrounded by a chain, linked to low stone bollards at each corner of the base, and it stands outside the Grade II-listed Worthing Town Hall of 1933-4.
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. This meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at the great loss of life. One such memorial was raised at Worthing outside the town hall, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Worthing War Memorial was unveiled on 11 April 1921 by Field-Marshal Sir William Robertson. It was made by Joseph Whitehead and Sons and paid for by public subscription through the Worthing Gazette. The dates of the Second World War and a list of the names of the fallen of that conflict were added to the memorial, as have the names of others who fell in subsequent conflicts.
Worthing War Memorial, Chapel Road, Worthing, 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: as a handsome composition of bronze figurative sculpture on an architectural stone plinth;
* Group value: the memorial stands outside Worthing's Grade II listed town hall, forming part of a civic group.
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.
Other nearby listed buildings
