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Gillingham
Town or City: Gillingham
County: Dorset
Country: England
WMT Reference Number: WM4635
Value of grant: £4640.00
Type of memorial: Freestanding
Type of work: Conservation and repair
Grant scheme: English Heritage/Wolfson Foundation Grants
Year: 2011
UKNIWM reference number: 26483
The Gillingham war memorial is in the form of a Gothic style lantern cross and is constructed of Ham stone. It commemorates the fallen of World War I and II. This grade II listed memorial has an intricately carved finial and inscriptions on two faces of the base. The finial includes carvings of the Crucifix and St George and the dragon.
The memorial is set within a three sided retaining wall with three Nabresian limestone panels set into the rear wall. It is centrally located at the end corner of a car park off the High Street.
In 2011 an application to the Grants for War Memorials scheme for works to clean the war memorial, undertake repairs, address delamination and remove previous poor repairs using white mastic. It was thought that the previous repairs may have been due to damage caused by the previous relocation. As part of 
the project the mastic was removed, a dowel was introduced to strengthen the elements and their bond with the main memorial. The memorial was heavily soiled and was cleaned using a combination of steam cleaning, bristle brushes and water and the use of appropriate picks. A grant of £4,640 was awarded to this project.
The memorial was unveiled in November 1920 to 90 soldiers who died in World War I with a further 18 names being added after World War II. It was originally situated beside the main thoroughfare and was moved in 1978 due to vandalism and subsidence.
Further information
War Memorials Trust reference WM4635
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 26483
War Memorials Online: 97700
The National Heritage List for England: 1110296
If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org
