Monument record 0714700000 - WAR MEMORIAL, JCT OF BICESTER ROAD AND CHEARSLEY ROAD, LONG CRENDON.

STONE OBELISK ON A THREE STEPPED BASE COMMEMORATING THE WAR DEAD OF WW1 AND WW2. UNVEIILED ON 19 NOV 1920 BT COLONEL F T HIGGINS-BERNARD (B1).
PHOTOGRAPH OF THE MEMORIAL AND FURTHER DETAILS OF WW1 WAR DEAD (B2).
Listed Grade II. Summary of Building: First World War memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War. Reasons for Designation: Long Crendon War Memorial, which stands at the junction of Chearsley Road and Bicester Road, Long Crendon, 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 sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20; - Architectural interest: a simple yet elegant Classical obelisk; - Group value: with Sycamore Farmhouse and Number 13, and 7, Bicester Road (both Grade II-listed). History: Long Crendon War Memorial was unveiled on 19 November 1920 by Colonel F T Higgins Bernard, of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. The memorial commemorates 52 local servicemen who died during the First World War. Following the Second World War, further names were added to commemorate those eight who died in that conflict. Details: The memorial stands in a raised garden to the east of the junction of Chearsley Road and Bicester Road. The garden is fronted by a low retaining wall. Access is gained by way of three steps in the centre of the wall, leading up to a paved area bordered on three sides by a similar low stone wall. A further three steps in the rear wall rise up to a flowerbed.
Approximately 3m tall, the stone monument at the centre of the paved area comprises an obelisk, square on plan. The obelisk rises from the pediment of a square plinth. The plinth stands on a three-stepped base. The principal dedication on the front (west) face of the plinth reads 'IN MEMORY OF/ THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DURING/ THE GREAT WAR/ THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE./ 1914 (3 NAMES)/ 1915 (9 NAMES)'. The remaining names from the First World War, grouped by year, are recorded on the other sides of the plinth. Inscriptions for the Second World War are recorded on the front faces of the steps. All the inscriptions are executed in metal letters fixed to the stone. Selected Sources: Websites: Imperial War Museum, War Memorials Register, accessed 22/12/2015 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/8040 (B3).