War Memorial 21 Metres North East Of The Village Pond

NEWTON VALENCE

559/0/10020 War memorial 21 metres north east of t 09-DEC-05 he village pond

II War memorial. 1921. Designed by H Bryans of Mornington Crescent, London with sculpture by Messrs Haswell of Chester. Runcorn stone.

DESCRIPTION: Tall tapering square-sectioned shaft with projecting moulded cap surmounted by a square-sectioned Latin cross. The shaft rests on a four sided plinth with shouldered tops to the corners and an octagonal top. This in turn rests on a four tiered octagonal base. On the west face of the plinth is the inscription 'In honoured memory of the brave men of Newton Valence who gave their lives for God, King and Country in the Great War A-D 1914-1918. So they passed over and all the trumpets sounded for them on the other side.' On the north and south faces are the thirteen names of the fallen. Included in the six names on the south face are three men awarded the Distinguished Service Order. On the east face is the inscription '1939-1945' and a list of names of the four fallen in World War II.

HISTORY: Costing £320, this memorial was unveiled by Colonel G B Lempriere on 6th March 1921 and dedicated by the vicar, Reverend A C Maclachan. The inclusion amongst the list of fallen of three DSO recipients is noteworthy. They were respectively Lieutenant Colonel H A Lempriere of the 7th Dragoon Guards, Brigadier General R C Maclachan of the Rifle Brigade and Lieutenant Colonel A F C Maclachlan of the Kings Royal Rifles.

ASSESSMENT: War memorials have very strong historic and cultural significance on both a local and national scale. This particular example, erected in 1921, is an elegant design in an attractive village setting.

SOURCES: The Hampshire Herald and Alton Gazette, Friday 11th March 1921: "In memory of Newton Valence men - Dedication of Memorial Cross"

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, 6 December 2016.