Cross of Sacrifice, Dundonald Cemetery, 743 Upper Newtownards Road Belfast, Co.Antrim, BT16 2QY

The Cross of Sacrifice at Dundonald Cemetery is a tall and imposing limestone war memorial designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and erected between 1927 and 1931. Commissioned by the Imperial War Graves Commission, the memorial was constructed by the local firm Haslett Brothers of Derry and stands at the highest point of Dundonald Cemetery on the main roadway leading from the main gates.

The memorial rises to approximately five metres in height and is oriented facing north and south. The base comprises an octagon formed of two rows of rusticated limestone blocks topped with smooth limestone slabs. Above this sits a smaller octagonal limestone plinth, also topped with slim, smooth, overlapping slabs. The stepped octagonal base of the stone cross is inscribed on three sides with the standard Imperial War Graves Commission inscription: "This cross of sacrifice is one in design and intention with those which have been set up in France and Belgium and other places throughout the world where our dead of the Great War are laid to rest. Their name liveth for evermore."

The limestone cross itself is octagonal in plan with the upright shaft swept in from a shallow base and tapering slightly as it rises towards the horizontal members. The exposed ends of the vertical and horizontal members step out to create the illusion of slightly larger octagonal stone end pieces. Two large bronze Excalibur-type swords are surmounted on the north and south faces of the cross, with the hilt of each centred at the crossing point. The combination of cross and sword was intended to represent the faith and self-sacrifice of those who died during the First World War.

Blomfield designed the memorial as a simple cross in order to keep clear of any sentimentalities of Gothic style. His standard design was approved by the Imperial War Graves Commission for erection in Commonwealth cemeteries containing more than 40 war graves. Blomfield was a prolific London-based architect who also designed the Belgian War Memorial at Victoria Embankment (1917), the Menin Gate Memorial and St. George's Memorial Church in Ypres (1922 and 1928), and the Royal Air Force Memorial in London (1923).

Dundonald Cemetery was established following the growth of Belfast's population at the turn of the 20th century. In 1897 Belfast Corporation purchased 45 acres of land in the townland of Ballymiscaw, Dundonald, for £5,600. The cemetery was laid out in plots in 1904 with the first burial taking place in 1905. By the end of the First World War, 76 soldiers and other casualties had been buried at Dundonald Cemetery, making it eligible for the erection of a Cross of Sacrifice. Representatives of the Imperial War Graves Commission visited Belfast in November 1926 to select suitable sites for memorials at both Dundonald Cemetery and Belfast City Cemetery. The Cross of Sacrifice at Dundonald was completed by 1931, as confirmed by its first depiction on Ordnance Survey maps of that year. Since its construction, the memorial has been included in local annual commemorations of the First World War, with the British Legion placing wreaths at the memorial as part of Somme Anniversary observances from at least July 1932 onwards.