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Summary
First World
War memorial, erected 1920.
Reasons for
Designation
Camberwell
Old Cemetery War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following
principal reasons:
Historic
interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world
events on the local community, and the sacrifices it made in the
First World War;
Architectural
interest: as a dignified and imposing war memorial;
Group
value: with the directly adjacent Memorial to those killed by
Zeppelin (Grade II).
History
The aftermath
of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public
commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected
across the country. This was the result of both the huge impact
on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British
lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead,
which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the
grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at
Camberwell Old Cemetery as a permanent testament to the
sacrifices made by the members of the communities in the Borough
of Camberwell. It was unveiled on 11 September 1920. Camberwell
Borough was later subsumed into the new London Borough of
Southwark in 1965.
Details
Tall
limestone pillar, topped by a flaming urn finial. The top of the
front face of the pillar bears the words:
"OUR /
GLORIOUS / DEAD"
surrounded by
a carved laurel wreath with hanging ribbons; to the bottom left
of the ribbon is the coat of arms of the Navy, with that of the
Army to the right. Below this is a raised rectangular section,
with a small wheeled cross to each corner. At the middle top are
the arms of the RAF; below this is the inscription:
THIS CENOTAPH
WAS
ERECTED BY SUBSCRIBERS
TO THE WAR MEMORIAL
OF THE
BOROVGH OF
CAMBERWELL AS A
TRIBVTE TO ITS SONS
WHOSE
BODIES ARE REST-
ING IN THE CEMETERY AND
THROUGHOVT THE
WORLD
AT THE CALL OF
KING AND COVNTRY
THEY LEFT
EVERYTHING
THAT WAS DEAR TO THEM
ENDVRED HARDNESS
FACED
DANGER AND
FINALLY PASSED OUT OF
SIGHT OF MEN BY THE
PATH
OF DVTY AND
SELF SACRIFICE
THEY DIED THAT
WE MIGHT LIVE
IN FREEDOM
AND AT THE LAST MVSTER
THEY SHALL STAND BE-
FORE
THE THRONE AN
EXCEEDINGLY GREAT ARMY
1914 - 1918
THEY
PASSED BVT THEY
COULD NOT PASS AWAY.
Below this
are the arms of the Borough of Camberwell. The left face of the
pillar bears a carving of a flaming torch, and the back a tall
wheeled cross. The pillar rests on a plinth, bearing the
inscription:
EVAN COOK, JP
MAYOR 1918-19
WILLIAM TAGG TOWN CLERK
this rests on
a three-step platform.
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