Showcase result

Wretham

Wretham war memorial is located on Church Road outside St Ethelbert’s Church. The memorial consists of a plain cross on a square plinth and a two stepped base constructed of limestone. The memorial is dedicated to those who lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars and also commemorates a visit by the 359th fighter group on 3rd August 1985. The south face bears the names of the seven men who lost their lives during the First World War and one man who lost his life during the Second World War. The north face bears the names of a further seven men who lost their lives during the First World War. All the names are incised on the war memorial, with the exception of a plaque dedicated to the visit of the 359th fighter group in 1985.

In 2012, War Memorials Trust offered a grant of £480 towards cleaning, re-pointing and re-painting of the lettering. This was necessary as some of the inscriptions were illegible owing to biological growth and the memorial had a number of open joints. An appropriate biocide was applied to the memorial and non-metallic bristle brushes were used with water to complete cleaning. All defective mortar joints were raked out and re-pointed using an appropriate lime based mortar mix. The original inscriptions were also re-painted using an enamel paint which matched the original colour of the letters.

As no parish council minutes exist before 1964, there is little information on the history of the war memorial. The inscriptions read:
“In memory of the men
of East and West Wretham
who fell in the
Great Wars
1914—18
1939 – 45"

"(Names)"

"Their name
liveth
for
evermore"

"(Names)”

The plaque at the base of the war memorial reads:
“This plaque commemorates
the visit by survivors of the
359th fighter group
in remembrance of those
who served and died in
the cause of freedom
3rd August 1985”

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM5825
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 19890

War Memorials Online: 146539

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

Return to search results | Start a new search