Memorial

Birchanger - Cross

Birchanger Cross

Source: Copyright Tony

1/4

Current Location

Near the south-west corner of the churchyard, St Mary the Virgin Church, Birchanger Lane, Birchanger, Uttlesford, Essex, CM23 5QA, England

TL 50732 22781

Church of England

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Type of Memorial: Cross
WMR Reference Number: 22843
Description: A stone cross, with a Sword of Sacrifice on front face. The cross stands on a hexagonal upper plinth that bears the original WW2 inscription/names; that stands on a lower octagonal plinth, to which stone tablets are fixed bearing the WW1 and WW2 names. The memorial has a four-stepped base.
Inscription: (East face of hexagonal upper plinth): 1939 - 1945 (South-east and north-east faces of hexagonal upper plinth): (12 WW2 names) (East face of octagonal lower plinth): FOR GOD/ FOR KING FOR COUNTRY/ IN LOVING MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF THIS PARISH/ WHO, AT THE CALL OF KING/ AND COUNTRY, LEFT ALL/ THAT WAS DEAR TO THEM/ ENDURED HARDNESS/ FACED DANGER AND PASSED/ OUT OF THE SIGHT OF MEN/ BY THE PATH OF DUTY/ AND SELF SACRIFICE/ GIVING UP/ THEIR OWN LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1918/ AND THE WORLD WAR 1939 - 1945/ SO THAT OTHERS MIGHT/ LIVE IN FREEDOM (Three panels on octagonal lower plinth): 1914-1919/ (names) (One panel on octagonal lower plinth): 1939-1945/ (12 names) N.B. The WW2 inscription and names are visible both on the upper, hexagonal plinth (i.e. where they were originally inscribed just after that War, and also on a tablet that was added to the lower plinth in 2006); see the 'History' section of this record for explanation.

War: First World War (1914-1918)
Number Commemorated: 37
Died: 37
Information shown: Forename, surname
Order of names: Listed alphabetically by surname, on three faces of the lower plinth.

War: Second World War (1939-1945)
Number Commemorated: 12
Died: 12
Information shown: Forename, surname
Order of names: Listed alphabetically by surname, both on the upper and lower plinths.

Maintenance History: April 2006: The original inscriptions on the upper and lower plinths having become badly weathered and difficult to read, the memorial was amended. As it was not feasible to have the lettering of the original inscriptions re-cut, new stone tablets were instead fixed to faces of the lower plinth, covering the original WW1 inscription. (Although the original WW2 inscription remained visible on the upper plinth, an extra new tablet bearing those same WW2 dates/names was also added to the lower plinth. The names of the 12 WW2 casualties therefore now appear twice on the memorial: once on the upper plinth, i.e. as inscribed in 1949, and again on the lower plinth, as inscribed on the panel that was added in 2006.// 20/11/1949: The memorial was rededicated, following the addition of the WW2 inscription and names to the upper plinth.// 25/7/1920: The memorial was unveiled, bearing the WW1 inscription and names, which were inscribed directly onto the lower plinth.