Desborough War Memorial

Desborough War Memorial stands in a war memorial garden at the junction of Lower Street and High Street, to the north of the Grade I-listed Anglican and Methodist Church of St Giles and opposite the Services Club (Grade II). The monument comprises a 4m high granite monolith, four-sided and slightly tapering. The memorial stands on a raised grass surround, around which runs a low iron railing supported on short granite posts.

To the front of the monolith a bronze plaque carries the inscription 1914-1919/ THEIR NAME LIVETH/ FOR EVERMORE. Bronzes plaques on either side bear the names of the town’s 116 First World War dead. On the rear face are bronze plaques commemorating those who fell in the Second World War and a stone plaque dedicated to those who have fallen in later conflicts. That bears the inscription IN MEMORY OF THOSE/ WHO HAVE DIED ON DUTY/ IN THE ARMED SERVICES POST 1945/ (1 NAME).

Three flower beds defined by iron railings, contemporary with the memorial, run in a semi-circle behind it. At the north-west corner of the memorial garden stands the granite post with the bronze plaque recording the garden’s gift to the town.

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, 17 January 2017.