War Memorial in the churchyard of the Church of St Saviour

Summary

A World War One war memorial, dating from circa 1920, with additions to the inscriptions to commemorate the fallen of World War Two and later conflicts.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial in the churchyard of the Church of St Saviour in Tetbury is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this community;
* Architectural interest: for its incorporation of the form of a traditional Cotswold table tomb;
* Group value: with the listed buildings which form its backdrop.

History

The memorial was proposed in 1920, and as it was to be situated in the churchyard of the Church of St Saviour, the design was considered by the newly-created Gloucester Diocesan Advisory Committee in February of that year. The then honorary Secretary of the DAC, the Reverend Denton Jenner-Fust, minuted the discussion thus: "A churchyard cross by Mr Frith was thought beneath criticism.  The cross and base were unrelated, & the whole thing most unsuitable for a place of Tetbury’s architectural distinction." Though relatively mild by the standards of Reverend Jenner-Fust, the expression "beneath criticism" was, understandably, received very badly in the parish. He eventually resigned over the matter; and the memorial was constructed according to the original design, by Henry Chapman Frith, an architectural sculptor from Gloucester. It was unveiled on 19 July 1921, by Major General Sir Louis Jean Bols, a highly-decorated veteran commander of campaigns across the Empire, and chief administrator of Palestine at the end of World War One. In 1920 Bols was appointed to command the 43rd Wessex division and the south-west area, and in 1921 he became colonel of the Devonshire regiment and of the 12th London regiment (the Rangers); during this period he had a house in Bath, and it is presumably this close proximity which brought him to Tetbury for the unveiling of the memorial. After the end of World War Two, the names of the men of the town who fell in that war were added to the memorial. In 2010, the names of Lance Corporal Gary Manning, RLC (d.1993) and Sergeant Richard Brown (d.2005) were inscribed on the monument; L/Cpl Manning had died when his Hercules crashed near Blair Athol in Scotland, and Sgt Brown had been in a Hercules shot down over Iraq.

Details

A war memorial, constructed in 1920/1 and unveiled in July 1921, to a design by Henry Chapman Frith. The monument is built from limestone. It takes the form of a plain cross with slightly tapering arms, set upon a plain square block. This sits upon a much more elaborate base, which takes the form of a Cotswold table tomb, with a finely-moulded cornice and base, set on a platform of two steps. The block on which the cross sits is inscribed to its east face IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF TETBURY / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR / 1939-1945. Below this, and continuing around the flanking sides, are the names, ranks and regiments or services of the 35 men who fell in World War Two. The western face carries the names of two servicemen who died in 1993 and 2005. The lower element is inscribed to its east face IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF TETBURY / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR / 1914-1918. The names, ranks and regiments or services of the 68 fallen of World War One are inscribed below, extending to cover the other three sides.

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, 10 January 2017.

Sources

Books and journals
Owen, C V, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography in Bols, Sir Louis Jean (1867-1930), (2004-12)
Kelly's Directory in Kelly's Directory of Gloucestershire, (1914), 201

Websites
Soldiers' names to be added to town war memorial, accessed from http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/cotswolds/5022924.Soldiers_names_to_be_added_to_town_war_memorial/
War Memorials Register, accessed 10 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/21038
War Memorials Online, accessed 10 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/103026

End of official list entry

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