Bury Cemetery War Memorial

First World War memorial of the 1920s, after Sir Reginald Blomfield’s ‘Cross of Sacrifice’ design.

MATERIALS: yellow sandstone and bronze.

PLAN: octagonal.

DESCRIPTION: prominently-sited in an open green space at the junction of two major paths near the cemetery gates.

Modelled closely on Sir Reginald Blomfield’s 1918 design for the Cross of Sacrifice, the cross and base have an octagonal section throughout. The overall height is approximately 4m. The shaft has slight entasis, and both the shaft and the arms taper subtly towards lipped, flat terminals. The principal face is on the south-west and is adorned with a reversed bronze sword with ogee pommel and trefoil guard. The shaft flares at the base, to a short foot.

The cross stands on a two-stepped base approximately 1.5m high, the upper section having a flat top and small plinth, the lower section with an overhanging weathered top. The front face of the upper section of the base is inscribed:

TO THE/ HONOURED MEMORY/ OF THOSE SAILORS/ AND SOLDIERS WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918 AND WHO/ LIE BURIED IN/ THIS CEMETERY

while the plinth of this section is inscribed across five faces:

THEIR/ NAME/ LIVETH/ FOR/ EVERMORE

The whole stands on an octagonal area of paving in the same stone, which ramps up at the junction with the base and forms part of the design.