Newport War Memorial, Isle of Wight

War memorial, unveiled in 1922. The memorial stands within a wider paved area in St Thomas’s Square to the south-west of the Church of St Thomas (Grade I). The memorial is enclosed by iron railings.

Materials: Portland stone with bronze panels.

Description: the memorial takes the form of a wheel-headed cross on a tall, tapering octagonal shaft rising from a pedestal with a moulded foot on a two-stepped plinth. The arms of the cross bear nailhead moulding while the sections of the wheel have bead moulding. The north face of the pedestal bears a recessed bronze panel with the inscription ANNO/1914 and DOM/1918 at the top, either side of the town seal. Underneath is the inscription THIS MEMORIAL/ WAS ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE/ OF NEWPORT/ TO COMMEMORATE THE NAMES/ OF HER GALLANT SONS/ WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE./ “GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS”. Underneath this panel is an additional bronze plaque reading ALSO THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES IN THE 1939-1945 WAR/ AND THE GRATEFUL THANKS OF/ THOSE WHO RETURNED. The remaining sides of the pedestal have recessed bronze panels bearing the names of the First World War fallen underneath the inscription THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE.

The inscription 1939-1945 and the names of the fallen from the Second World War are recorded on three stone tablets fixed to the foot of the pedestal on the east, south and west sides. The tablet on the east side also bears one name from the First World War.