Yateley War Memorial

First World War memorial of 1920, updated after the Second World War and subsequent conflicts.   MATERIALS: timber super-structure, with embossed bronze plaques, and limestone base and walling.   DETAILS: the tall wooden memorial is set-back from the Reading Road. It takes the form of a large hooded Calvary, with the figure of Christ Crucified, carved in the round. In the apex of the hood there is a plaque with acorn-shaped pendant mouldings to either side. The plaque has the letters 'I.N.R.I' carved in relief (from the Latin phrase 'Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum' meaning 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews', as per the notice Pontius Pilate had nailed over Jesus as he lay dying on the cross.)   Set back below the base of the cross, there are two First World War, bronze memorial tablets which are embossed with names of the 42 fallen from the local community. They are set within a timber surround, the uprights of which have square bosses, carved in a flower pattern. The memorial stands on a base formed of three stone steps which are inscribed with the commemorative text 'TO THE MEMORY OF THE MEN OF YATELEY / WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919 / GRANT O LORD ETERNAL REST / GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIEND'.   Behind and to the sides of the First World War memorial, there is a c-shaped, low stone wall. The wall steps up and flares as it terminates on both sides, and supports stone tablets inscribed with names of the 26 fallen from the Second World War. They also carry the date inscription '1939-1945'.

The steps of the main monument also commemorate a soldier who died in the Malayan Emergency of 1956. A latter wooden plaque with the title 'AFGHANISTAN' has been added to the mid-section of the cross, commemorating Marine Adam Brown, who was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated on 1 August 2010, in the Sangin district of Helmand province.