Lewes War Memorial is a war memorial at the top of School Hill in the centre of Lewes in East Sussex, prominently sited at the junction of High Street and Market Street. It commemorates 251 men from Lewes who died in the First World War, and 126 who died in the Second World War. It was unveiled in 1922 and became a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1985. The memorial was designed by the artist Vernon March. He also designed the Canadian National War Memorial in Ottawa, the

Cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

in Cape Town, and

Diamond War Memorial Erected in 1927, the Diamond War Memorial is located on The Diamond in the centre of Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is dedicated to the citizens of the city who lost their lives while in military service during World War I. Pla ...

in Northern Ireland. It was constructed in the centre of Lewes, on a site formerly occupied by an ornate lamppost. It comprises a Portland stone obelisk with bronze statuary. The obelisk stands on a cruciform stone plinth, with steps between the pairs of piers leading up to bronze shields. It is topped by a bronze statue of a winged Victory standing on a globe, facing east towards the fields of Flanders, holding up a laurel wreath. The base features two bronze statues: Liberty seated to the west holding a torch, and Peace seated to the east with a dove on her shoulder. To one side of the figure of Peace is a bronze shield facing south east, inscribed "IN MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF LEWES / WHO DIED / FOR THEIR COUNTRY / AND FOR MANKIND / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 1918". The three shields between the other piers of the memorial bear 251 names of the fallen from the First World War. The memorial was unveiled in 1922 by General Sir Henry Sclater, a local landowner who was also General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command in 1916 to 1919. It was dedicated by the

Bishop of Lewes The Bishop of Lewes is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Lewes, the county town of East Sussex East Sussex i ...

, Henry Southwell. A quotation from

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

– "

THIS WAS THEIR FINEST HOUR "This was their finest hour" was a speech delivered by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on 18 June 1940, just over a month after he took over as Prime Minister at the head of an all-party coalition government. It ...

" – was carved into the north face of the obelisk in 1950. The monument was rededicated in 1981, after plaques listing the names of 127 fallen from the Second World War were added to the north and south faces of the plinth, with an additional inscription added to the south face of the obelisk: "LIKEWISE / REMEMBER / THOSE OF / THIS TOWN / WHO GAVE / THEIR LIVES / IN THE WAR / 1939–1945". It became a Grade II

in 1985, and was promoted to Grade II* in October 2014. File:Lewes Guy Fawkes Night Celebrations (3) - geograph.org.uk - 1570195.jpg, The memorial during Lewes Bonfire Night festivities File:High Street, Lewes, East Sussex - geograph.org.uk - 1111774.jpg, Front view File:Lewes - High Street - geograph.org.uk - 1186572.jpg, Setting at a road junction File:Lewes High Street war memorial in September 2013 3.JPG, Liberty File:Lewes High Street war memorial in September 2013 2.JPG, Peace

References

First World War Memorials Honoured
Historic England, 10 November 2014
Historic England

Public sculptures of Sussex

{{coord, 50.87341, 0.01111, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Lewes Buildings and structures in East Sussex Grade II* listed buildings in East Sussex Monuments and memorials in East Sussex World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England 1922 sculptures Sculptures by Vernon March

See also

References