Dorchester War Memorial

The Dorchester War Memorial commemorates those lost in both the First and Second World Wars. Erected in 1921, the memorial includes names added after 1945 to remember those who died in the Second World War and subsequent conflicts.

The memorial is constructed from Portland whitbed stone ashlar and is located on the corner of South Street and South Walks, near the site of the Roman town's south gate. It takes the form of a cenotaph, a monument built to honour the fallen. It is rectangular, standing 4.5 metres high, 3.2 metres wide, and 2.1 metres deep. The top is a large ashlar course, possibly representing a tomb chest, set on a shaft with a heavily moulded cornice and base, which rests on two steps. The shaft tapers slightly to meet a roll moulding, broken on two sides by carved panels featuring a longsword within a laurel wreath, which is entwined by ribbons marked 1914 and 1918. The lower stage of the shaft has recessed panels on each side, each containing narrow bronze plaques. The west panel displays five plaques. The first is inscribed: "TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF/ THOSE OF DORCHESTER WHO IN THE GREAT WAR/ GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR KING AND COUNTRY." Subsequent plaques list the names of those who fell. The east panel bears two plaques, the first inscribed with details of the cenotaph's construction and unveiling by Lord Ellenborough in 1921, naming A.L.T. Tilley, the Mayor of Dorchester, as chairman of the committee. The second plaque notes the unveiling of further tablets in 1948 and 1949 by Councillor Henry G. Longman, the Mayor of Dorchester. The south panel features the inscription "1939-1945/ (NAMES)", and the north panel has three plaques inscribed with the years "1939-1945/ (NAMES)", "Since 1945/ (NAMES)", and "1914-1918/ (NAMES)". The memorial records the names of 240 individuals who died in the First World War (including nurse Constance Hodges), 83 who died in the Second World War, and two who died since 1945. Each name is accompanied by their service branch or regiment. The memorial is enclosed by a chain-link fence with eight ornamented metal posts.