War Memorial, Off Inver Road, Larne, Co Antrim

This is an impressive war memorial, constructed between 1920 and 1939, serving as a lasting tribute to those lost in conflict. The memorial takes the form of a tapering stele of Portland stone, against which stands a bronze figure group on a pedestal. The group features a sailor and soldier sculpted in bronze, standing on a Portland stone pedestal which also bears a bronze inscription plaque. The stone stele is decorated with a frieze incorporating lion heads, laurel wreaths, and a central cartouche at the top. A battered podium of granite, surrounded by concrete, is bounded by a low granite wall with piers at the centre and extremities, to which ornamental cast iron posts are linked by spiked iron chains. Bronze name plaques, recording the names of those who died in the First World War, are affixed to the side elevations of the stele, while a later marble plaque on the rear elevation remembers those who died in the Second World War, the Korean War (1950-1953), and in Aden (1966). The bronze figures were sculpted by F.W. Pomeroy, R.A., a prominent British sculptor who died in 1924. Originally located in Town Parks Ward, outside the Laharna Hotel, the memorial was relocated to its current position in 1975, within a small park setting of pavings and grass. The memorial’s significance lies in its style, proportions, ornamentation, setting, authorship by Pomeroy, its social and cultural importance, and its local historical interest.