Downside School War Memorial

Heritage listing

Details A First World War memorial designed by Leonard Stokes; altered in 1999 to include the names of those who lost their lives during the Second World War and both the Malayan and Aden Emergencies. MATERIALS: constructed of local limestone. DESCRIPTION: the memorial consists of a Calvary cross supported by a principal wall with plaques and further projecting stepped walls. The memorial features two steps to access the principal wall. At the top of this wall, there is a large plaque underneath a crest, which details the names of the pupils who died during the First World War. There are three further plaques below that also give names; each is headed by a crest of the school house that the pupils belonged to. Beneath these plaques there is an inscription which reads: SUORUM MEMORIAE/ QUI TERRA MARI AERE/ HILARI ANIMO PRO PATRIA DIMICANTES/ CUM SIGNO FIDEI PRAECESSERUNT/ HANC CRUCEM/ MAERORIS GLORIAE SPEI DOCUMENTEM/ PIA MATER DICAVIT/ ANIMABUS IMPLORA PACEM. The Calvary cross stands at the top of an octagonal column, with two flanking figures facing south-west and north-east. A figure of Christ faces north-west and is surrounded by carved foliate detailing. From the principal wall there are two further projecting stepped walls with saddle-back coping, each with a plaque on the north-west face to list the name of the pupils who gave their lives during the Second World War. Inscribed beneath both plaques are the dates 1939-1945. On the inside of the left hand wall there is a further plaque which reads: MALAYA 1950/ K.F. MCINTYRE LT. SEAFORTH/ ADEN 1967/ J.D.E ROSE FOREIGN OFFICE/ (MI6). On the rear face of the memorial there are two further plaques to mark the unveiling and rededication of the memorial. The plaque at the top of the wall reads: THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED/

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.