War Memorial In Churchyard Of Church Of St Michael And All Angels

FINMERE

1721/0/10006 War Memorial in churchyard of Church o 10-AUG-06 f St Michael and All Angels

II World War I and World War II memorial, comprising a stone cross with a raised sword on a double pedestal. Inscribed on its 6 o'clock face is: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF THE/ MEN OF FINMERE PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918/ (6 NAMES)/THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE. ECCLUS X[L]1V 14 On the 9 o'clock face is inscribed: THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE WORLD WAR 1939-1945/ (4 NAMES)/ FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH

The memorial stands just within the gateway to the churchyard of the church of St Michael and All Angels. The church of St Michael and All Angels is a C14 building listed grade II; also listed at grade II are three tombs in the churchyard.

HISTORY: The precise date of the memorial is not known, but it was almost certainly erected soon after the end of the First World War, like so many others, to honour the men of Finmere who served and died during the conflict. The names of those who lost their lives in the Second World War were added later. It was carved by a mason, J.C. Coles.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: Finmere War Memorial is a poignant testimony to the sacrifice of the people of Finmere. The memorial has strong group value with the listed church and churchyard. War memorials like this, erected by communities to honour their war dead, are considered of special interest because of their very strong historic and cultural significance, both on a local and a national scale.

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, 11 January 2017.