Glastonbury War Memorial

A First World War Memorial of 1920, altered by the names of the fallen of the Second World War.

MATERIALS AND PLAN The memorial is built of Doulting stone and is rectangular on plan.

DESCRIPTION The memorial stands approximately 6m high and consists of a Maltese cross on a shaft which sits on a tapering plinth. The cross has at its centre an emblem symbolising the first two letters of the Greek name of Christ, with the letters N I K H in the four arms, for the Greek 'Nike', meaning Victory.

The shaft is decorated with carved Celtic plait work designs, and has at its centre a further carved symbol showing two birds eating from the Tree of Life, representing the immortality of the soul. At the base of the shaft is a plaque commemorating the fallen of the Second World War, with the inscription, "THIS TABLET WAS ADDED/ IN MEMORY OF THOSE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE/ WORLD WAR/ 1939 - 1945/ (NAMES)/ THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE".

The plinth contains plaques commemorating the fallen of the First World War, with the inscription, "TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF THIS TOWN WHO FELL IN/ THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1919/ (NAMES)/ THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE/ ALSO IN GRATEFUL APPRECIATION OF THOSE WHO RETURNED".

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES The memorial stands on a stone stepped base.

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.