Aylesbury War Memorial

The Aylesbury War Memorial was erected in 1921 to commemorate the First World War, with later additions to remember those lost in the Second World War and the Falklands War. It is located at the northwest end of Market Square, where Market Street joins, standing on an oval plot facing southeast.

The memorial’s design features a cross flanked by low, curved screen walls, all adorned with commemorative plaques. An oval, paved and grassed area lies in front of the memorial, enclosed on the southeast edge by two plinths supporting bronze lamp posts and cast iron posts linked by chains.

The central cross is based on the Imperial War Graves Commission ‘Cross of Sacrifice’ design and features an octagonal shaft and cross bar bearing a bronze sword. It stands on a tiered plinth, the base of which incorporates commemorative plaques and adjoins the curved walls. The walls have wide, moulded copings terminating in substantial piers.

The front face of the plinth displays a plaque with floral decoration, a cross, and a scroll bearing the dates 1914 and 1918, along with the inscription ‘THEIR MEMORY / LIVES / FOR EVERMORE’. Eight bronze plaques affixed to the southeast faces of the wall list the names of 300 men who died in the First World War, with names arranged alphabetically in raised lettering, two columns per panel, listing surname followed by initials and rank.

Plaques on the sides of the plinth commemorate the 108 men who died in the Second World War, each plaque accompanied by a smaller plaque above inscribed ‘1939-1945’. A single plaque on the northeast end of the screen wall remembers the Falklands Campaign of 1982, naming Cockton SJ LCPL.

The paved area in front of the memorial includes inset pebbles and two grassed areas separated by a central walkway. Two square plinths, each with a moulded base and cornice, support bronze lamp posts with acanthus-leaf bases, laurel-detailed columns, capitals, and flame-shaped glass shades. The cast iron posts linking the chain barrier are square in plan and exhibit two stages of mouldings topped with spherical finials.