St George's Church Memorial Cross, Deal

The memorial stands in front of St George’s Church on Deal High Street. It is a 3-meter-tall granite Celtic cross, featuring a wheel-head cross set upon a tapering shaft. The arms of the cross are decorated with carved relief interlace patterns and a central boss surrounded by twelve small hemispheres.

The front face of the shaft is divided into three sections by horizontal bars. The uppermost section is a blind panel. The middle section displays the arms of the Tisdall family carved in relief. A bronze replica of the Victoria Cross, suspended from a wreath, is mounted on the lower section, with a bronze replica of the reverse side of the University of Cambridge’s Chancellor’s Medal for Classical Learning encircled within the wreath, the wreath’s design mirroring that on a statue of Athena.

Near the base of the rear of the shaft, the heraldic achievement of Deal is carved in relief. Below it, an inscription in applied metal lettering reads: "IN PROUD & LOVING MEMORY/ OF THE MEN WHO FROM/ THE PARISH & CONGREGATION/ OF ST GEORGE’S DEAL/ HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY."

The shaft is set on a tapering plinth, which records dedications and names in applied metal lettering. The east face is dedicated to Arthur Walderne St Clair Tisdall, V.C., with details of his education, family, birthdate, and death in action at Achi Baba, Gallipoli, on May 6, 1915. The north face is dedicated to his brother, John Theodore St. Clair Tisdall, detailing his education and death leading his company at Guillemont, France, on August 8, 1916, alongside one other name. The west and south faces each bear eighteen names.

The plinth is set on a tapering step, inscribed with a further dedication and additional names in applied metal lettering. The east face recounts the award of the Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in rescuing wounded officers and men during the British troop landing from the S.S. "River Clyde" at V Beach, Gallipoli, on April 25, 1915. The north, west, and south faces of this step bear two, nine, and eight names respectively.

The memorial stands on a square step with an illegible inscription, centrally located on the path from the High Street.