Redditch St Stephen War Memorial

The Redditch St Stephen War Memorial is a First World War memorial built in 1922, designed by the Bromsgrove Guild, with later additions. It is made of Portland stone and is situated in a prominent location next to the Church of St Stephen, which is also listed as Grade II.

The memorial features a Latin cross atop a tall, tapering octagonal shaft, supported by a substantial two-tiered square pedestal and a single-stepped octagonal base. On the south-west face of the pedestal, there is a carving of James Clark’s ‘The Great Sacrifice’.

The inscriptions beneath the carving include, on the upper tier of the plinth: "BESEECHING THEE/ –THAT/ WITH THEM WE MAY BE PARTAKERS/ OF THY HEAVENLY KINGDOM." On the lower tier, it reads: "THIS EMBLEM OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH/ IS ERECTED TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN HONORED MEMORY OF THE/ MEN AND BOYS OF THIS PARISH/ WHO WON THE GLORY/ OF THE LIFE LAID DOWN/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914–1919."

The names of the fallen from the First World War are carved on two faces of the pedestal (the south-east and north-west), which have since been overlaid with bronze plaques inscribed with the names. There are three plaques for the First World War, and additional plaques commemorate those who lost their lives in later conflicts.