Summary

Historic England is assessing the Old Basing War Memorial for listing as part of the First World War Commemoration project.

Description

First World War memorial cross, erected around 1920.

DESCRIPTION: stone memorial cross set upon an octagonal plinth and three-stepped base. The faces of the plinth bear incised inscriptions, the principal face reads: ‘TO THE PRAISE AND/ GLORY OF GOD IN/ UNDYING GRATITUDE/ TO THE MEN WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ AND IN LOVING/ MEMORY OF THOSE/ FROM THIS PARISH/ 1914-1918’. The opposing face carries the inscription ‘THEN WERE THE/ PEOPLE GLAD/ BECAUSE THEY/ OFFERED WILLINGLY’.

Names are inscribed onto the remaining plinth faces and the steps, with the regiment and the place in which they fell noted beneath. A later inscription commemorating those who fell in the Second World War has been added to the plinth, this reading: ‘THIS TABLET/ IS DEDICATED/ TO THE MEMORY/ OF/ THOSE WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES/ IN/ THE SERVICE OF/ KING AND COUNTRY/ 1939-1945/ (NAMES)’

History

The concept of commemorating war dead did not develop to any great extent until towards the end of the C19. Prior to then memorials were rare and were mainly dedicated to individual officers, or sometimes regiments. The first large-scale erection of war memorials dedicated to the ordinary soldier followed the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, which was the first major war following reforms to the British Army which led to regiments being recruited from local communities and with volunteer soldiers. However, it was the aftermath of the First World War that was the great age of memorial building, 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 erected at Old Basing in the grounds of the Church of St Mary as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. Inscriptions have been added to the memorial to commemorate the fallen from the Second World War and the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960).

Reasons for Listing

Old Basing 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 the local community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as a well-worked stone cross monument with original memorial inscriptions.

Group value:

* with the Grade I-listed Church of St Mary to the north.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q62176152

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

• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)