Oxted War Memorial

The memorial panels are rather curiously positioned, this being the 1939-45 panel that greets us at the front of the memorial,…

…beneath which the upper step is inscribed with ‘In honour of those who served – In sympathy with those who suffered’,…

…and the lower step…

…’In proud and loving memory of those who fell in the Great Wars 1914-1919 – 1939-1945′.  I like those lines.

One wonders whether the memorial was moved at some point, and then replaced incorrectly, because surely this panel was once the front panel and should line up with the inscriptions on the steps?  Or could the base block have been turned after the Second World War so that the most recent dead would appear on the front panel.  Bearing in mind the hassle involved, that seems a bit far fetched.

The Great War names continue on the rear panel,…

…with more on this third panel.

A chance to compare the memorial as it is today with the memorial ninety nine years ago in 1923 – does that front panel look the same?

I am far from convinced that it does……

Early 20th century stitched map of Oxted, the area in which the memorial is sited marked, in response to Alan’s comment (see below).

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6 Responses to Oxted War Memorial

  1. Nick Kilner says:

    Interesting! The writing on the steps must have been completely redone post WW2, as both wars are mentioned on the same panel, and it’s clearly not been ‘shoehorned’ in. Whether they rebuilt it on the site of the original, or whether they took the opportunity to move the whole thing to a new position is difficult (if not impossible) to say, but it’s clearly had a significant rebuild.
    Very nice, and I too very much like the wording.

    • Magicfingers says:

      Questions, questions. It is an interesting memorial although not to my favourite style, I must say – this type is a bit spindly, I always think. The old photo does suggest that the actual positioning of the memorial has not changed – those chalk works on the hills behind I know well, and other references state ‘on original site’. I wonder whether the writing on the steps was only added after WWII – i.e. the steps were totally blank until then? That makes sense, I think, but then why didn’t they line up the main panel with the steps? Questions, questions……

  2. ALAN BOND says:

    Thank you another interesting memorial. Looking at the old photo and using Google earth I wonder if there has been some realignment of the roads which required the memorial to be moved as it looks further back from the pavement now than it did in old photo but it could just be a case of the perspective being different.

    • Magicfingers says:

      Interesting detective work. That is quite possible. The map added to the end of the post is circa 1910/1912 (I have stitched two maps together) might prove or otherwise your theory. Lmk.

  3. Margaret Draycott says:

    I too like the wording, not seen that before perhaps they had a lot of returning wounded.
    Agree about the spindiliness (is that such a word) of the monument don’t really like it, doesn’t add anything to the memorial

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