Eastham War Memorial

The Eastam War Memorial is a World War I memorial with later additions commemorating those lost during World War II, built in 1924 by Charles John Allen. It takes the form of a tapering stele of Hopwood limestone resting on a shallow, square stone plinth of the same material. A large bas relief on the north face depicts a falling soldier supported by a comrade, accompanied by an inscription reading “THEY SOUGHT THE GLORY OF THEIR COUNTRY/THEY SEE THE GLORY OF GOD.” Further inscriptions in bronze lettering on the north face of the base list the men from the parish who died in the Great European War, from August 1914 to November 1918. Carved wreath reliefs appear on the upper parts of the east and west faces, with bronze lettering below recording the regiments and names of 35 men killed during World War I. The south face features a carved roundel at the top containing entwined circle of thorns, flanked by bronze numbers denoting the years 1939 and 1945, and bronze lettering recording the names of 31 men killed during World War II. The stele is topped by a tall, robed bronze figure of Christ, with a cross nimbus and a crown held aloft.

The memorial stands on a small, triangular, planted plateau enclosed by a low sandstone wall, situated between Stanley Lane and Eastham Village Road. It was erected in 1924 at a cost of £1,000 and unveiled in a ceremony led by Dr Paget, Bishop of Chester, on March 15, 1924.

The memorial’s significance lies in its historic and cultural importance, as a poignant reminder of the impact of tragic world events on the local community, and for its striking artistic design. It shares group value with the adjacent, also grade II listed, village cross of 1891, which is set upon the same raised plateau.