Stanway War Memorial

The Stanway War Memorial is a significant structure made from local North Cotswolds stone sourced from the Jackdaw Quarry on the Stanway House estate, with a sandstone plinth. The memorial features a bronze sculpture by Alexander Fisher depicting St George slaying a dragon, which wraps around the upper part of a circular stone column adorned with relief carvings of a shield of England and a pilgrim’s badge (shell).

The design of the column is attributed to Sir Philip Sidney Stott, while Mr Grimmett of Laverton oversaw its construction. The inscriptions and decorative reliefs on the upper part of the column were crafted by Eric Gill. The column includes a square-sectioned collar near the top that lists the theatres of war where the Stanway men lost their lives. It is mounted on a square plinth with a moulded cornice and raised inscription panels on each side, which are incised with names.

The plinth is elevated on a four-stepped base, designed to resemble a Tudor rose. The right side of the square-section collar near the top of the column reads "FRANCE," while the reverse side states "EGYPT AND/ GALLIPOLI." The front face of the plinth bears the inscription "MEN OF STANWAY/ 1914 - 1918/ FOR A TOMB/ THEY HAVE AN ALTAR/ FOR LAMENTATION/ MEMORY/ AND FOR PITY/ PRAISE," a quote from the Greek poet Simonides. The right side of the plinth lists six names, and the left side lists five names. The reverse of the plinth features the inscription "FOR YOUR/ TO-MORROW/ WE GAVE/ OUR TO-DAY," taken from J Maxwell Edmunds’ Inscriptions Suggested for War Memorials published in 1919.