Summary
First World War memorial cross, 1920, with later additions.
Reasons for Designation
Appleby Magna War Memorial, 1920, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* as a simple but well-executed granite Celtic cross.
Group Value:
* with the Grade II* listed Church of St Michael and a number of other listed structures.
History
The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and the official policy of not repatriating the dead: memorials, therefore, provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
Like a great number of memorials, Appleby Magna war memorial was funded by public subscription, and was designed and executed by Henry Charles Mitchell of Tamworth. The memorial was unveiled on Sunday 03 October, 1920 by Lieutenant-Colonel Byron, commanding officer of the Leicestershire Yeomanry Cavalry, and dedicated by the Rector, the Reverend CT Moore, MA. The memorial commemorates 14 local servicemen who fell in the First World War, and was added to following the Second World War, and again in 1956, following the death of a local soldier in Cyprus.
Details
First World War memorial cross, 1920, with later additions.
MATERIALS: constructed from grey granite.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands in the cemetery in Church Street, opposite the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels Church. It comprises a Celtic cross with a tapering shaft standing on stepped square pedestal and base. The head of the cross is enriched with relief-moulded knotwork. The shaft is inscribed in incised lettering: ‘THEIR / NAME / LIVETH FOR / EVERMORE’, and the step: ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD’. A metal plaque is fixed to the pedestal; it reads ‘IN PROUD AND LOVING MEMORY OF / THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / 1914-1918’, followed by the names of the 14 local servicemen who fell in the war. Beneath are inscriptions to those who lost their lives in the Second World War, and in Cyprus in 1956.
