Victoria Street War Memorial, Newton

The c3.6m tall sandstone memorial stands at the junction of Victoria Street and Cartwright Street. It is raised on a square coursed stone block in a small garden surrounded by iron railings. The memorial takes the form of a three-stage base, square on plan, supporting a tall plinth. The plinth is capped with a pediment. Carved in relief on the west facing side of the pediment is a be-ribboned wreath. Incised into the ribbon on the left of the wreath is 1914 with 1919 to the right. The pedestal is surmounted by a bronze statue of a fully-equipped soldier, carrying his rifle. The original life-sized statue was made of Portland stone but has been replaced with a bronze replica.

The dedication inscribed on the west face of the pedestal reads ERECTED/ BY THE RESIDENTS/ OF VICTORIA STREET AND/ DISTRICT,/ IN HONOUR OF THE MEN/ WHO ANSWERED THEIR/ COUNTRY’S CALL/ KILLED IN ACTION followed by thirty names. The upper stage of the base below carries eight names. The riser of the middle stage bears the inscription UNVEILED AND DEDICATED BY/ ALDERMAN TURNER MARCH 13TH 1920. The riser of the lower stage is inscribed with the builder’s name WILLOUGHBY, WILDE & SONS/ HYDE.

There are seventy-one names inscribed on the south face of the pedestal and the base below bears the inscription LIBERTY. There are sixty-nine names on the east face of the pedestal and the base bears the inscription (NAME)/ FRATERNITY/ (NAME). There are sixty-four names on the north face of the pedestal, the base bears the inscription PATRIOTISM and on the riser of the middle stage is the name and regiment of a soldier followed by KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN/ MAY 2ND 2010.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 30 January 2017.