Summary
Camberley Memorial Cross, erected 1922, located within a paved area south of the group of three lodges forming the southern entrance of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
Reasons for Designation
Camberley Memorial Cross which sits south of a group of three lodges which form the southern entrance to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, 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 large, rock-hewn Latin cross of granite.
Group value:
* with a number of listed buildings in the vicinity, particularly the Entrance Lodges to the Royal Military Academy (Grade II, List entry 1030032), Lamp Post West of Main Entrance to Royal Military Academy (Grade II, List entry 1377522) and Lamp Post East of Main Entrance to Royal Military Academy (Grade II, List entry 1030034).
History
The aftermath of the First World War saw an unprecedented wave of public commemoration with tens of thousands of memorials erected across the country, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was erected at Camberley next to the entrance to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
The cross is situated within a paved area enclosed by low walls, south of a group of three lodges which form the southern entrance to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and in line with the central lodge or guardroom.
Camberley Memorial Cross was unveiled by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn on the 30 August 1922, on land granted with a 999 year lease from the War Office. Local residents had raised £2000 towards the memorial, of which £700 was used to erect the cross. The remaining money raised was donated to endow beds at Frimley Cottage Hospital.
After the Second World War, the names of those who had died in the conflict were also added to four square pillars placed at the corners of the plinth surrounding the cross. In 2015, a memorial paving stone was laid to the south of the memorial, commemorating Captain Garth Neville Walford who posthumously received the Victoria Cross for his actions in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915. It seems possible that the brick pavement and the rusticated wall which forms the boundary of the enclosure to the monument were also constructed at a later date.
Details
The war memorial cross was erected in 1922. It sits within a paved area enclosed by low walls, south of, and in line with, the C19 lodge to the Royal Military Academy by James Wyatt.
MATERIALS & PLAN: the monument consists of a large, rock-hewn Latin cross of granite, mounted on a square, stone base which sits on a plinth which is approached by three steps to each side. At each corner of the base there are low piers of two diminishing stages which may have been added later.
The Latin cross has a tapered shaft and a further, incised cross at its head on the southern side. Inscribed in relief at its base on the southern face is ‘THE / GREAT WAR / 1914-1919’. On the northern face is inscribed ‘TO OUR / GLORIOUS / DEAD’. An added granite plaque at the base of the cross base on the southern face reads ‘WORLD / WAR / 1939 – 1945’.
The names of those who died in the First World War are inscribed in two columns on each face of the main cross base. The names of those who died in the Second World War are inscribed on the four smaller piers at the corners of the plinth.
