East Stoke War Memorial

EAST STOKE

101/0/10008 CHURCH LANE 13-OCT-08 East Stoke War Memorial

GV II War memorial, erected in 1922. Red brick with dressings probably of Portland stone. It takes the form of a wayside shrine and consists of a three bay structure with an entablature with moulded cornice. It stands on a stone platform. Each bay contains recesses, with the central gabled bay breaking forward. The central recess displays a late-C20 cross, and the flanking upper left and right stone panels commemorate those who died during the First World War. The inscription to the upper left panel reads: IN GRATEFUL/MEMORY OF/THE MEN OF EAST STOKE/WHO FELL IN THE/GREAT WAR/1914-1918/I THANK MY GOD UPON/EVERY REMEMBRANCE OF YOU'. That to the upper right panel reads:REMEMBER BEFORE GOD/OUR BRAVE COMRADES/WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/FOR OUR COUNTRY (NAMES)'. Those who lost their lives in the Second World War are commemorated on the lower panels; the central one reads: `THIS COMMEMORATES/THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR/LIVES TO SAVE MANKIND/IN THE WORLD WAR/1939-1945'. The flanking left and right panels are inscribed with their names.

HISTORY: The great age of memorial building was in the aftermath of the First World War. This war memorial was erected to commemorate those who died during the Great War. It was unveiled on 23rd April 1922 and was the work of the Purbeck Stone and General Trading Company of Swanage. Three further inscription panels were added after the Second World War.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION DECISION The war memorial in East Stoke is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * A modest but unusual design in the form of a wayside shrine * An eloquent witness to the impact of tragic world events on this community * It has group value with the adjacent former church which is listed at Grade II

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, 7 December 2016.