Swerford War Memorial

SWERFORD

1711/0/10007 CHURCH END 05-APR-06 Swerford War Memorial

GV II War memorial, erected after the First World War to honour the men of Swerford who served and died during the conflict, of local golden limestone.

It stands c.2.5m high, and comprises a squat stone obelisk set upon a cube with a recessed panel to each face set in turn on a plinth with two offsets.

The north panel (facing the church) has a carved inscription: OF THE 35 MEN FROM/ SWERFORD WHO SERVED IN THE / KING'S FORCES FROM 1914-1918/ THE FOLLOWING GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ The inscription is followed by six names.

The memorial stands in the middle of the village, on a small green opposite the medieval church of St. Mary (listed grade II*).

HISTORY: This war memorial was erected after the First World War to honour the men of Swerford who served and died during the conflict. Its architect, if indeed there was one, and precise date of erection are not known.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: Swerford's war memorial is of a very simple stone obelisk design but it stands as a permanent testimony to the sacrifice this small community made in the First Word War. The short list of names manifestly adds to the poignancy of this otherwise plain structure, which is made of very local materials. 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.

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.