Helsby War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Helsby War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of the Church of St Paul, 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: an intricately carved cross in the Celtic style;
* Group value: with the Church of St Paul (Grade II) and the lychgate to St Paul’s churchyard (Grade II).

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 also 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 raised at Helsby 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 memorial was unveiled by J Taylor JP and dedicated by Reverend EW Evans on 25 April 1920, commemorating 20 local servicemen who died in the First World War. The memorial, designed by RH Lockwood and made by W Heswall and Son, was funded by the parishioners at a cost of £350. Following the Second World War the names of 17 men who died in that conflict were added. In 2005-6 the war memorial was conserved with the help of grant aid from War Memorials Trust and in 2015 the memorial was refurbished by the local authority.

RH Lockwood was also responsible for designing the war memorial at Upton by Chester, and the panels in Chester Town Hall commemorating the c800 men of Chester who died in the First World War.

Details

The war memorial stands in the churchyard of the Grade II-listed Church of St Paul, overlooking the A56 and close to the Grade II-listed lychgate. The c5m tall sandstone memorial takes the form of a Celtic cross with a broad tapering shaft. The wheel-head and shaft are decorated with complex vine patterns carved in relief. The shaft stands on a pedestal, rectangular on plan, raised on a three-stepped base. The whole stands on a platform above the level of the churchyard wall.

The principal dedicatory inscription is recorded on the front face of the cross shaft, at its foot, incised into the stone and painted in black ink, reading ERECTED BY THE/ PARISHIONERS OF HELSBY/ IN PROUD AND/ GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE/ OF THE MEN OF HELSBY/ PARISH WHO DIED FOR THEIR/ KING AND COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WARS/ 1914 - 1918 1939 - 1945. Below this on the front face of the pedestal the commemorated names are incised in two columns, one of the 20 First World War combatants and the other of the 17 Second World War names.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 20/07/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/2155
St Paul's Church, Helsby, accessed 20/07/2016 from http://www.stpaulhelsby.org.uk/visitors.html
War Memorials Trust, Grants Showcase, accessed 20/07/2016 from http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=618
War Memorials Online, accessed 26 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/120412

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