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West Meon

West Meon war memorial is located in St John the Evangelist’s Churchyard, which is in a conservation area. The memorial is formed of a square platform, two stepped base, plinth and Latin cross. The Latin cross bares a sword of sacrifice. The inscriptions are incised in the plinth and commemorate the fallen of the First World War.

In 2014, War Memorials Trust offered a grant of £180 towards the cleaning of the memorial. The inscriptions on the memorial had become obscured by discolouration and vegetative growth, so the memorial was cleaned using low pressure steam cleaning to ensure the inscriptions were legible.

In 2020 a further grant of £760 was awarded through the Grants for War Memorials scheme, supported by Historic England. This again covered cleaning, this time using low pressure water and natural bristle brushes, as the deposits were obscuring the inscriptions. The Trust does not normally provide funding for the same works but in this case the cleaning was also necessary to carry out further works so was deemed appropriate. These further works included the re-pointing of the memorial using lime mortar and some stone replacement where the stone had become cracked and damaged. Stone replacement is considered a last resort where repair is not possible. In such cases it is important to ensure that the replacement stone matches the existing otherwise differential weathering can lead to further damage.

The inscription on the memorial reads:

“In memory of
those who fell
in the Great War
1914 – 1918

“For us the glorious
dead have striven
they battled that we
might be free”

“Their name liveth
for evermore””

“(names)”

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM7946
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 49005

War Memorials Online: 190445

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

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