Memorial And Attached Walls, Steps And Pool Surround At American Military Cemetery

The memorial chapel and museum room, with attached walls, steps and pool surrounds, were built between 1952 and 1954 by Perry, Shaw, Hepburn, Kehoe and Dean of Boston, with Hughes and Bicknell of Cambridge as executant architects. The memorial is constructed of Portland stone, with sandstone flag steps and pool surrounds. The chapel is tall and rectangular, located at one end of a row of three long, rectangular pools.

Attached to the right of the chapel entrance is a wall, which turns at a right angle to create a terrace adjacent to the pools. This wall bears inscriptions of the fallen and features four servicemen, carved in stone, acting as sentinels. The wall turns again to provide a view of the pools and chapel, with an approach down a flight of steps flanked by a Portland stone pier. Further drops in level see the Portland stone wall transition into a low retaining wall, enclosing a garden area to the left of the pools, with a flight of steps near the chapel, ultimately forming a plinth for the chapel itself.

The chapel is characterized by simple lines, a tall rectangular doorway, and a gable with a commemorative inscription. A wall to the left features projecting Portland stone piers rising to the full height of the wall. The structure includes an eastern apse, and decorative bronze window frames. Inside, the ceiling and apse are adorned with a mosaic in blues, browns, and golds, depicting angels and aeroplanes. A relief map on the liturgical south wall illustrates "The Mastery of The Atlantic: The Great Air Assault."

The Memorial and Cemetery was constructed by the American Battle Monuments Commission, on land donated in perpetuity by Cambridge University. It is a remarkable building of extremely high quality and holds historical importance as a war memorial, displaying group value as a significant example of post-war commemorative architecture.