Men of Finchley War Memorial, including the Finchley Metropolitan Tramway and Hendon Garage Memorial Tablets

Summary

First World War memorial, 1925, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

The Men of Finchley War Memorial, unveiled in 1925, 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 conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as a well-composed memorial integrating a fine relief-cast bronze plaque and original inscriptions.

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 England. 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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

Discussions regarding the erection of a war memorial in Finchley commenced in early 1919 and it was decided that it would take the form of an institute with costs to be raised by public subscription. By 1922 the money raised was not enough to cover these plans and so it was proposed that the funds which had been raised would be allocated to the Finchley United Services Club, which had recently been purchased by the Finchley branch of the Royal British Legion. In May 1925 the secretary of the club, Captain Harry Thrush, proposed that a memorial should be built in front of the clubhouse and by August that year the design of the memorial had been decided upon. On 8 November 1925 the memorial was unveiled by Lord Lascelles and dedicated by the Reverend E Pelham Thompson. Following the Second World War the dates of that conflict were added to the memorial.

Details

First World War memorial, 1925, with later additions for the Second World War.

MATERIALS: granite and bronze.

DESCRIPTION: Men of Finchley War Memorial is located in front of the Finchley United Services Club on Ballards Lane. It takes the form of a granite monolith set on a two-stepped base. The east face has a bronze cross affixed which bears the figure of a soldier flanked by the busts of a sailor and an airman cast in relief, with an inscription at the foot of the soldier reading ‘AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE/ SUN AND IN THE MORNING/ WE WILL REMEMBER THEM’. The east face of the memorial, underneath the bronze cross, bears an inscription in raised bronze lettering which reads, ‘IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF/ MEN OF FINCHLEY WHO/ BY SERVICE ON LAND SEA/ AND IN THE AIR GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ 1914 – 1919/ 1939 – 1945’.

The memorial is flanked by two relocated tablets recording the names of staff of the Metropolitan Electric Tramway Finchley Depot and the Hendon Garage who fell in the First World War. Both are set into the ground on slanted stone bases; the Metropolitan Electric Tramway Finchley Depot memorial to the north and the Hendon Garage memorial (dated 1921) to the south.The memorial stands on a grassed area enclosed by hedging to the north, west and south and a later-added brick dwarf wall surmounted by metal railings to the east with a central gate.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online: Metropolitan Electric Tramway Finchley Depot, accessed 15 February 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/212538/
War Memorials Online: Hendon Garage, accessed 15 February 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/212534/

Other
'Hendon', The Hendon and Finchley Times, 9 May 1919, p5
'Finchley War Memorial', The Hendon and Finchley Times, 9 May 1919, p7
'Finchley War Memorial', The Hendon and Finchley Times, 10 February 1922, p6
'A Democratic Body', The Hendon and Finchley Times, 15 May 1925, p6
'Honour for Finchley', The Hendon and Finchley Times, 14 August 1925, p8
'Finchley’s War Memorial', The Hendon and Finchley Times, 13 November 1925, p15

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