The

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed structure located in the churchyard of the Church of St Laurence in the village of Stanwick. The memorial is a tapering

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

al shaft, about 5 metres tall, made of sandstone. It is topped with a cross brought back from the battlefield cemeteries by one of the families. It is set on a square plinth which is set on four layers of octagonal steps. The names of the deceased are inscribed on three of the faces of the plinth. The fourth, west face of the plinth contains the commemoration details. THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 THEIR NAME SHALL LIVE FOR EVERMORE 1939-1945

History

On 9 May 1915 four Stanwick men of the

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

were killed during the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive int ...

; James Brawn, Thomas Craven and brothers, Herbert and William Felce. On 8 May 1921 Stanwick's War Memorial was unveiled by Colonel Pratt, Lord of the Manor. The memorial was erected to commemorate those who had died during

The First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the names of those who had died during

The Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...

were added to the base of the memorial after that conflict had ended. The memorial is unique in that it is topped with a genuine cross brought back from the battlefield cemeteries. On 8 May 1945, the Allies formally accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces, marking the end of World War II in Europe. This date is celebrated in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth as Victory in Europe Day. In 2015,

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

added the memorial to the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a Grade II structure, as "an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the twentieth century".National Heritage List for England, Entry Number 1430863

Names on the memorial

References

{{Reflist

External links

Stanwick War Memorial ("Stanwick's Everlasting Loss")
Buildings and structures in Northamptonshire Grade II listed buildings in Northamptonshire