War Memorial South Eastof The Church Of St Andrew

MEDSTEAD

430/0/10012 War memorial south east of the Church 08-DEC-05 of St Andrew

GV II War memorial. Dedicated in 1920. Sculpted by Messrs G. Maile and Sons of Euston Road, London, approached by five stone steps by Messrs Jeffery and Son of Medstead. Cornish granite. Celtic cross with a Crusader's sword sculpted in relief at its centre. It rests on a rough-hewn tapering rock base, which itself rests on a rectangular plinth of more geometric proportions. The south-west face of the rock base is inscribed: 'In memory of ours 1914-1919'. Twenty names in alphabetical order follow in two columns and the inscription concludes 'These laid the world away'. On the south-east face is the inscription 'Also in memory of' followed by eight names in alphabetical order in two columns and concluding '1939-1945'.

The Crusader sword motif and the rough, weathered quality of the un-polished granite evokes the medieval period, and hence this memorial fits in well with its surroundings in the churchyard of the grade II listed St Andrew's which dates from the C12.

HISTORY The memorial was unveiled on 17 October 1920 by Admiral Jervoise and dedicated by the rector of St Andrew's Church, the Revd T. F. Fulton.

ASSESSMENT War memorials erected by communities to honour their war dead are generally considered of special interest because of their very strong historic and cultural significance, both on a local and a national scale.

SOURCES 'The Medstead War Memorial', Hampshire Herald and Alton Gazette, Friday 22 October 1920.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 6 December 2016.