West Row War Memorial

First World War memorial, 1919, with Second World War additions. It was designed and manufactured by Messrs HG Neville and Sons of Mildenhall.

MATERIALS: Portland stone.

DESCRIPTION: West Row War Memorial stands in a prominent position on Church Green, a triangular-shaped area of grassland immediately to the east of the Church of St Peter (unlisted), at the junction between Church Road and Church Lane.

The memorial, which stands some 3.2m high, takes the form of an obelisk with a three-stepped plinth set upon a broad square base.

The north faces of the plinth's upper two steps bears the First World War dedicatory inscription in incised black painted lettering and reads: THIS MEMORIAL WAS ERECTED / IN GRATEFUL AND LOVING / MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS / VILLAGE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR KING AND COUNTRY / IN THE GREAT WAR, / 1914 - 1919. (top step) and GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, / THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS / FRIENDS (John 15:13) (middle step). Beneath, also on the middle step, is the Second World War dedication which reads: ALSO IN MEMORY OF / THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE / SECOND WORLD WAR 1939 - 1945. Inscribed on the face of the bottom step are the names of 8 parishioners who died during the Second World War, while a further name is inscribed on the foundation stone as a later addition.

Inscribed on the remaining three sides of the plinth are the names of the 35 local men who died in the First World War, along with the words: SIDE BY SIDE WE FOUGHT TOGETHER, / THROUGH THE CONFLICTS FIERCE AND LONG, / FOR THE CAUSE OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE / AND THE DEAR ONES LEFT AT HOME. (east side) and NOBLY THEY DID THEIR DUTY, BRAVELY THEY FOUGHT AND FELL / AND THE SORROW OF THOSE WHO LOVED THEM, / IS OURS TODAY AS WELL. (west side). The names, except the later addition, are arranged alphabetically by surname, listing ranks, regiments and decorations were applicable.

The war memorial stands within a gravelled area enclosed by a concrete kerb and a chain link fence supported by concrete fence posts, all of late-C20 date. As these features are not integral to the memorial's original design they are not of special interest and are therefore excluded from the listing.