Leiston War Memorial, Church of St Margaret

Leiston War Memorial was erected in 1919, with additional inscriptions added for the Second World War, and is located immediately to the north-east of the Church of St Margaret. The memorial was designed by Dorothy Anne Aldrich Rope, who lived from 1883 to 1970.

The memorial is made of stone and features cast-bronze sculptural work. It has a square plan and is prominently positioned next to the north door of the Church of St Margaret. The structure consists of a simple stone Calvary cross, which is complemented by an Arts & Crafts style bronze sculpture of the crucified Christ, adorned with a cross pattée halo. The cross stands on a tapered rectangular plinth and platform, which is enclosed by a low-set square stone boundary.

Decorative foliate cast bronze details are present at the base of the cross on all four sides, with the front featuring a central chalice and the dates of the First World War, ‘1914’ and ‘1918’, displayed on an open scroll. The front face of the plinth bears an inscription within a carved laurel wreath that reads: ‘TO / THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN HONOUR OF ALL / FROM THIS PARISH WHO / HAVE OFFERED THEMSELVES / AT THEIR COUNTRYS NEED / AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF / THOSE WHO IN MANY LANDS / AND ON MANY SEAS HAVE / LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES’.

The names of 116 individuals who fell during the First World War are inscribed in red lettering on three rectangular tablets located on the side and rear faces of the plinth. After the Second World War, further carved inscriptions were added to the lower part of the plinth, below the tablets, to commemorate 43 fallen soldiers from that conflict, as well as four civilians who were killed in Leiston due to enemy action. These names are also inscribed in red, along with the dates of both wars, which were added to the four corners of the front elevation of the plinth during this time.