Newton Abbot War Memorial, including the surrounding stepped stone base, and railings

War memorial, erected between 1920-22, added to after the Second World War and again following later conflicts, surrounded by a stepped base and decorative railings.

MATERIALS: the memorial is constructed of Plymouth and Bath stone with bronze plaques and sculpture, and surround by wrought-iron railings.

PLAN: the squared plinth stands in front of a later curved wall, and is located within a rounded-triangular garden plot.

DESCRIPTION: a bronze female standing figure of Victory with outstretched arms holding broken chains stands on the abacus of a Tuscan-style column. The square plinth has bronze panels. The north face reads 'TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY OF THE MEN/ OF NEWTON ABBOT/ THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR/ 1914 - 1918'. The other faces of the plinth include the names of those who died during the First World War.

To the north is a curved wall circa 1.5m high and 10m long. The wall has a moulded plinth and is topped by a cornice with a low pediment in the centre. The north side contains bronze plaques bearing the names of servicemen and civilians who died during the Second World War. The Roman-influenced design of the central plaques includes the dedication PRO PATRIA/ THESE TABLETS WERE ERECTED/ TO HONOUR/ AND RECORD THE NAMES OF/ THOSE WHO MADE THE SUPREME/ SACRIFICE. The wings of the wall on either side contain the names of those civilians and serviceman who died during between 1939-45.

The gravel area in front of the wall includes two stone tablets. The left is dedicated to a serviceman who died during the Korean Campaign. The tablet to the right is dedicated to those who died in service to their country since 1945.

The memorial stands on top of a stepped-stone base and paving.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the triangular memorial garden is surrounded by a low stone plinth topped by decorative spearhead railings with alternating wrought-iron and cream brick-and-carved-stone piers.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 8 December 2016.