Great Bookham War Memorial, In The Churchyard Of St Nicolas Church

1293/0/10016 Great Bookham War Memorial, in the chu 20-JUN-07 rchyard of St Nicolas Church

GV II War memorial of stone, presumably early 1920s, designer unknown.

DESCRIPTION: The memorial stands approximately 3-4 metres high towards the south corner of the churchyard, a few metres from the lych gate. It has a tapering octagonal shaft moulded at the base with the inscription 'AD 1914-19'. This stands on a square moulded plinth inscribed: 'To the Glory of God / In Memory of those who / laid down their lives / In Thanksgiving for those spared to return / And in Commemoration of the Victory they / jointly helped to gain'. The plinth rests on top of a three stage base; the top stage is square with the inscription 'Their Glory shall not be blotted out / Their Name liveth for evermore'. The lower two stages are octagonal, the upper bearing the names of the dead on all sides. All of the inscriptions, except for the names of the fallen which are in Roman script, are in Gothic lettering. At the top of the shaft is a crucifix, following the octagonal shape of the shaft, with a carved figure of Jesus Christ. The ends of the cross are embellished and the four angles within the cross have detailed carvings.

HISTORY: Very little is known of the history of the memorial. The minutes of the church board of 12 December 1918 record a decision that the people of Bookham should erect the memorial. The date of unveiling is unknown, but presumed to be the early 1920s. Plaques commemorating the names of the dead of both World Wars are displayed within the church.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: This war memorial commemorates the men of Great Bookham who died during the course of the First World War. It has special interest as a war memorial and because of the Christian symbolism declared by the carefully sculpted figure of Jesus Christ on an embellished octagonal cross. War memorials with figures of Christ are relatively rare among the thousands of listed examples nationally. It has important local interest as the parish of Bookham were given the responsibility to erect the memorial which not only commemorates the fallen but possibly also the skills of local craftsmanship.

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, 5 December 2016.