Mark War Memorial

War memorial, circa 1920. MATERIAL: Ham stone, with complex carving. Bronze memorial plaques. DESCRIPTION: based on Reginald Blomfield's 'Cross of Sacrifice' design for the Imperial War Graves Commission, the memorial takes the form of a Latin cross with octagonal shaft and cross arm, with moulded octagonal terminals, the tapering shaft standing on an octagonal plinth in two stages, which in turn stands on two octagonal steps. A sword is carved in relief against the cross; in Blomfield's design, a bronze longsword is affixed to the cross. Blomfield intended his design to be a fitting reminder of the 'grim terrors of the trenches' and free from 'any sentimentalism of the Gothic'; the memorial at Mark, however, makes use of Gothic ornament in a restrained and considered way, with fleur-de-lys to the angles of the cross, and engaged crocketed finials to the lower portion of the shaft, with a band of trefoils above. The western faces of the upper part of the plinth bear the carved inscription ‘Faithful Unto Death’. The lower part of the plinth carries two bronze plaques, the one to the west with the names of those who fell in the First World War, and the one to the east with the names of those lost in the Second World War.

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, 14 December 2016.