Summary

War Memorial. Unveiled in 1921 to commemorate the service of two Territorial Army Units in the First World War. Relocated in the 1950s and altered to commemorate the service of a third unit in the Second World War.

Description

The Portland stone memorial is in the form of a Celtic cross with an octagonal shaft, set on an octagonal pedestal and moulded plinth. The original inscription on the front face of the plinth has been overlaid by a stone tablet with the following inscription: ‘TO THE/ GLORIOUS MEMORY OF/ OUR COMRADES OF THE/ 7TH BATTALION/ THE ESSEX REGIMENT(T)/ AND THE/ 3RD EAST ANGLIAN/ FIELD AMBULANCE RAMC (T)/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 - 1918/ AND OF THE/ 59TH (THE ESSEX REGIMENT)/ HAA ARTILLERY/ ROYAL ARTILLERY REGIMENT (TA)/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN/ THE SECOND WORLD WAR/ 1939 - 1945/ WE ARE THE DEAD./ TO YOU WITH FAILING HANDS/ WE THROW THE TORCH;/ BE YOURS TO HOLD IT HIGH.’

The sides of the plinth adjoining the tablet and the foot of the cross bear metal regimental badges of the three regiments commemorated.

History

The memorial was unveiled on 12 November 1921 to commemorate the service of two Territorial Army units: the 7th Battalion, the Essex Regiment and Third East Anglian Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps. The architect is not known. Following the Second World War the 59th (Essex Regiment), Heavy Anti-aircraft (HAA) Regiment was added. It was originally located outside the Territorial Army drill hall on Church Hill, Walthamstow, about a mile from its current location outside the local TA centre. The drill hall closed in the 1950s and the memorial was relocated. The monument was presumably altered around this time by the addition of a stone tablet in order to commemorate the Second World War unit.

Reasons for Listing

The Territorial Army Memorial at Whipps Cross is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as a permanent memorial to the involvement of three Territorial Army units during both the First and Second World Wars it is of strong historic and cultural significance both at a local and a national level;
* Architectural interest: for the quality of the design of this elegant memorial.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27087656

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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