Marlow War Memorial

The Marlow War Memorial is a First World War memorial, with additions made after the Second World War, designed by T Hansford-White and W Henry Wright in 1920.

Constructed from Portland stone, the memorial is situated at the northern end of the green between High Street and The Causeway. It features a tapering cross that stands approximately six meters high, adorned with a bronze victory wreath at the junction of the arms, and bronze sprays of laurel embellishing the lower three feet of the shaft. The cross is set upon a moulded and inscribed square-plan plinth, which is raised on a base and two steps with quadrant cut corners, all resting on an octagonal platform. At each angle of the octagon, there are moulded tapered pillars, and iron chains enclose the memorial. Three steps on the north side lead down to a stone-paved path that connects to the road, bordered by chain fencing supported by metal posts and a pair of metal gates.

The front (north) face of the plinth features an inscription in inset leaded lettering in a plaza-style pre-Art Deco font, which reads: ‘IN GRATEFUL AND / HONOURED MEMORY / OF THE / TWO HUNDRED & FIFTEEN/ MEN OF MARLOW / WHO MADE THE / SUPREME SACRIFICE / IN THE / GREAT WAR / 1914-1919’. Below this, on the base, it states: ‘AND OF THOSE WHO FELL / IN THE / SECOND WORLD WAR / 1939-1945’.

On the east face, the inscription notes: ‘THE NAMES OF THE / OFFICERS, NCOs & MEN / OF THE / ROYAL NAVY / THE ARMY / AND THE / ROYAL AIR FORCE / COMMEMORATED / BY THIS CROSS / ARE RECORDED ON / THE WALLS OF THE / PARISH CHURCH’.

The west face bears a dedication by the Reverend TF Royds, which reads: ‘"SONS OF THIS PLACE, / LET THIS OF YOU BE SAID, / THAT YOU WHO LIVE / ARE WORTHY OF YOUR DEAD. / THESE GAVE THEIR LIVES / THAT YOU WHO LIVE MAY REAP / A RICHER HARVEST / ERE YOU FALL ASLEEP" / TFR’.