| Rainham War Memorial | |
|---|---|
 Rainham War Memorial, a clock tower which commemorates soldiers killed in World War I. | |
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| Details | |
| Established | 1920 |
| Location | Broadway and Upminster Road, Rainham, Greater London |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°31′07″N0°11′25″E / 51.518527°N 0.190175°E |
| Type | military |
The Rainham War Memorial commemorates soldiers killed in both World Wars as well as civilian casualties of World War II.
The monument is a clock tower in the centre of the town of Rainham, Greater London, England. [1] It is constructed of red Belgian brick, with Portland stone dressings. Portland stone is a limestone quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. There is cast stone ornamentation as well. The memorial is a hexagonal short tower with clock faces on three of its sides. On a sloping base, the names of the war dead are inscribed. In addition, stone blocks inscribed with "Lest We Forget" are positioned at angles to the tower. There are also inscription panels on the sides of the monument. Narrow pilasters decorate the angles of the clock tower. Arches are present over a niche and doorway. The top of the clock tower features a parapet with balustrade. [1] Iron railings surround the memorial, which is prominently sited between Broadway and Upminster Road in front of Saint Helen and Saint Giles, the parish church of Rainham. [2]
The Rainham War Memorial was built in 1920 by a Mr. Vinton. [1] It was unveiled by Colonel Sir Francis Henry Douglas Charlton Whitmore (1872–1962) on 7 November 1920. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex from 1936 to 1958. [3] The Rainham War Memorial was added to the National Heritage List for England on 25 March 2002 as a Grade II listed structure. [4] A Grade II structure is felt to be nationally important and of special interest. [5]
In the photograph to the right, red poppy wreaths around the Rainham War Memorial further commemorate the area's dead soldiers. The Remembrance Day service continues to be held annually by the memorial. Also referred to as Armistice Day or Poppy Day, it is observed on 11 November. The residents of Rainham pay their respects by placing crosses and fresh poppy wreaths adjacent to the monument. [6] [7]
One of the soldiers represented on the monument is Second Lieutenant Ralph Luxmore Curtis, a World War I flying ace credited with fifteen aerial victories. A native of Rainham, the nineteen-year-old engaged in aerial combat with Hermann Göring, commander of Jasta 27 and future head of the Luftwaffe. [8]
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The Polish Air Force Memorial is a war memorial in West London, England in memory of airmen from Poland who served in the Royal Air Force as part of the Polish contribution to World War II. Over 18,000 men and women served in the Polish squadrons of the RAF during the war, and over 2,000 died. The memorial marks the southern extremity of South Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon, near RAF Northolt, where seven Polish-manned fighter squadrons were based at different times in the war.
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Second Lieutenant Ralph Luxmore Curtis was a World War I British flying ace credited with fifteen aerial victories. He died from wounds sustained when he engaged in aerial combat with Hermann Göring, commander of Jasta 27. The aviator was interred twice in Belgian cemeteries, and was also commemorated on the Rainham War Memorial.
The Bromley War Memorial in Bromley, Greater London, England commemorates the fallen of World War I and World War II. It was designed by British sculptor Sydney March, of the March family of artists.
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Spalding War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall in Spalding, Lincolnshire, in eastern England. It was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. The proposal for a memorial to Spalding's war dead originated in January 1918 with Barbara McLaren, whose husband and the town's Member of Parliament, Francis McLaren, was killed in a flying accident during the war. She engaged Lutyens via a family connection and the architect produced a plan for a grand memorial cloister surrounding a circular pond, in the middle of which would be a cross. The memorial was to be built in the formal gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall, which was owned by the local district council. When McLaren approached the council with her proposal, it generated considerable debate within the community and several alternative schemes were suggested. After a public meeting and a vote in 1919, a reduced-scale version of McLaren's proposal emerged as the preferred option, in conjunction with a clock on the town's corn exchange building.
The North Eastern Railway War Memorial is a First World War memorial in York in northern England. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens to commemorate employees of the North Eastern Railway (NER) who left to fight in the First World War and were killed while serving. The NER board voted in early 1920 to allocate £20,000 for a memorial and commissioned Lutyens. The committee for the York City War Memorial followed suit and also appointed Lutyens, but both schemes became embroiled in controversy. Concerns were raised from within the community about the effect of the NER memorial on the city walls and its impact on the proposed scheme for the city's war memorial, given that the two memorials were planned to be 100 yards apart and the city's budget was a tenth of the NER's. The controversy was resolved after Lutyens modified his plans for the NER memorial to move it away from the walls and the city opted for a revised scheme on land just outside the walls; coincidentally the land was owned by the NER, whose board donated it to the city.
Southend-on-Sea War Memorial, or Southend War Memorial, is a First World War memorial in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in south-eastern England. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1921. Southend-on-Sea is a seaside resort famous for its pleasure pier, which was used by the military during the First World War. The town was a stopping point for soldiers en route to the front and, as the war drew on, it also became an important disembarkation point for the evacuation of injured troops. This saw the conversion of several buildings in Southend into hospitals.
Sandhurst War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the village of Sandhurst in Kent, south-eastern England, close to the border with East Sussex. The memorial is one of fifteen War Crosses by Sir Edwin Lutyens and arguably the one with the most elaborate setting. It was unveiled in 1923 and is today a grade II listed building.
Croydon Cenotaph is a war memorial, in Croydon, London, England. It is located outside the Croydon Clocktower arts complex, on Katharine Street in Croydon.
Streatham War Memorial is a war memorial to the war dead of the London district of Streatham in the two World Wars. It was unveiled in 1922, and is sited near the northwest corner of Streatham Common, London Borough of Lambeth, England.
The Bank of England War Memorial, in the internal Garden Court at the headquarters of the Bank of England in the City of London, commemorates the bank's staff who were killed while serving in the First World War and Second World War. It includes a bronze sculpture by Richard Reginald Goulden portraying Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child. It became a Grade II listed building in 2017. The surrounding buildings of the bank are separately listed at Grade I.
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