War Memorial At Rippleside Cemetery

WAR MEMORIAL AT RIPPLESIDE CEMETERY

This war memorial is a Cross of Sacrifice constructed from Portland stone. It consists of a freestanding Latin cross mounted on an octagonal base with inscriptions, which rests upon an octagonal plinth and base featuring an overhanging chamfered coping. A bronze sword with its blade pointing downward is positioned on the western face of the cross.

The west-facing sides of the plinth carry a carved relief inscription reading: "THIS CROSS OF SACRIFICE IS ONE IN DESIGN / AND INTENTION WITH THOSE WHICH HAVE / BEEN SET UP IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM AND / OTHER PLACES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD / WHERE OUR DEAD OF THE / GREAT WAR ARE LAID TO REST." The lower tier of the plinth bears the inscription "THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE." No names of individual fallen soldiers are listed on the memorial.

In front of the base stands a separate small stone pedestal with an ornamental wreath containing the carved initials "BL" (British Legion), beneath which is inscribed "1914-1918 BRITISH LEGION WOMEN'S SECTION." This pedestal is a later addition and not part of the original design, and consequently is not included in the designation.

The memorial occupies a prominent position at the junction of two paths, to the south-west of Rippleside Cemetery Chapel, within Rippleside Cemetery in Barking.

The Rippleside war memorial was erected following the First World War to honour the men of Barking who served and died in the conflict. It is a "Cross of Sacrifice" type designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, a leading architect and garden designer who served as one of the official architects to the Imperial War Graves Commission, later renamed the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The Commission was established in 1914 by Sir Fabian Ware to individually commemorate the casualties of the First World War. To achieve beauty and permanence in the physical forms of commemoration, four eminent architects were assigned to design war cemeteries: Sir Edward Lutyens, Sir Reginald Blomfield, and Sir Herbert Baker. They worked according to principles established by Frederic Kenyon, the Director of the British Museum, and Rudyard Kipling, who served as literary advisor. The cemeteries incorporated architecture and planting, sharing common design themes whilst remaining visually distinctive.

Two key elements defined the cemetery design: the War Stone by Lutyens and Blomfield's Cross of Sacrifice. Whilst the War Stone was regarded as "the universal mark of British War Cemetery," the Cross of Sacrifice incorporated Christian symbolism, which was otherwise restrained in the design of headstones and cemetery buildings.

The British Legion, whose members are commemorated on the pedestal, was established in 1921 as a charitable organisation to support the interests of widows and families of ex-servicemen. In the same year the British Legion Auxiliary Women's Section was formed, and in 1922 it was renamed The British Legion Women's Section; the prefix "Royal" was added in 1971. It is one of the largest charitable organisations in the United Kingdom.