Summary

First World War memorial, 1925, with later additions for the Second World War.

Description

First World War memorial, 1925, with later additions for the Second World War.

MATERIALS: granite and bronze.

DESCRIPTION: Men of Finchley War Memorial is located in front of the Finchley United Services Club on Ballards Lane. It takes the form of a granite monolith set on a two-stepped base. The east face has a bronze cross affixed which bears the figure of a soldier flanked by the busts of a sailor and an airman cast in relief, with an inscription at the foot of the soldier reading ‘AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE/ SUN AND IN THE MORNING/ WE WILL REMEMBER THEM’. The east face of the memorial, underneath the bronze cross, bears an inscription in raised bronze lettering which reads, ‘IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF/ MEN OF FINCHLEY WHO/ BY SERVICE ON LAND SEA/ AND IN THE AIR GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ 1914 – 1919/ 1939 – 1945’.

The memorial is flanked by two relocated tablets recording the names of staff of the Metropolitan Electric Tramway Finchley Depot and the Hendon Garage who fell in the First World War. Both are set into the ground on slanted stone bases; the Metropolitan Electric Tramway Finchley Depot memorial to the north and the Hendon Garage memorial (dated 1921) to the south.The memorial stands on a grassed area enclosed by hedging to the north, west and south and a later-added brick dwarf wall surmounted by metal railings to the east with a central gate.

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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

Discussions regarding the erection of a war memorial in Finchley commenced in early 1919 and it was decided that it would take the form of an institute with costs to be raised by public subscription. By 1922 the money raised was not enough to cover these plans and so it was proposed that the funds which had been raised would be allocated to the Finchley United Services Club, which had recently been purchased by the Finchley branch of the Royal British Legion. In May 1925 the secretary of the club, Captain Harry Thrush, proposed that a memorial should be built in front of the clubhouse and by August that year the design of the memorial had been decided upon. On 8 November 1925 the memorial was unveiled by Lord Lascelles and dedicated by the Reverend E Pelham Thompson. Following the Second World War the dates of that conflict were added to the memorial.

Reasons for Listing

The Men of Finchley War Memorial, unveiled in 1925, 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 community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as a well-composed memorial integrating a fine relief-cast bronze plaque and original inscriptions.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Finchley War Memorial at Wikipedia
• Wikidata IDs Q23891231 Q66480117

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)