Hythe War Memorial

Heritage listing

Details The memorial stands in a small garden of remembrance beside the Grand Military Canal. It takes the form of a white marble pillar, square in section, the faces carved with a bas-relief frieze of twelve servicemen from the different forces and ranks. The corners of the pillar are rounded and carved with laurel garlands. The pillar is capped with a marble orb, with a stylised depiction of the sea, laid in blue mosaic, and carved fish. On the orb stands a bronze winged figure of Victory holding aloft a bronze model of a medieval Cinque Ports ship. The monument stands on a square marble base in the centre of what was a shallow circular pool, now planted as a bed. Around the bed is a wide stone pavement. Bronze lion-head spouts were once mounted on the base of the monument, presumably to act as a fountain, but the spouts have now been lost. Behind, is a low, curved, stone wall, with the inscription: THESE DIED THAT WE MAY LIVE, and below are mounted ceramic panels bearing the names of the 154 fallen of World War I. The wall originally terminated with a pier at either end. These piers now bear plaques to those who fell in subsequent conflicts, including 40 who fell in World War II, and the wall has been extended to either side, following the curve of the original section before straightening out to form short wings, which terminate with a second set of piers. This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 30 November 2016.

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.