Isle of Wight war memorials listed ahead of Armistice Day

They are among the 132 war memorials added to the National Heritage List for England by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England, in the past year.

They are Totland Bay War Memorial, Binstead War Memorial, Lake War Memorial, Brighstone War Memorial, War memorial within the churchyard of Parish Church of St Lawrence, Shanklin War Memorial, and East Cowes Air Raid Protection (Civil Defence) Memorial.

The recently listed memorials are among tens of thousands that were erected across England in memory of the many people who lost their lives in both World Wars, never to return home.

In place of graves, these memorials became focal points for local communities to mourn and honour their dead.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "Our War Memorials across the country remind us of the huge sacrifices made by generations in the conflicts of the last century, and provide communities with a focal point to express their gratitude and loss.

"We are proud to continue our work in recognising and protecting these important public monuments so future generations can continue to honour and remember the fallen.”

East Cowes Air Raid Protection (Civil Defence) Memorial

This memorial was erected in the churchyard of the St James Church in East Cowes to commemorate the loss of four members of the local Air Raid Precautions (ARP) service people who died while on duty during the Second World Wa.

They were Senior Warden Edward Kersey, 46, Warden Montague B B Brinton, 37, Warden William M Cowburn, 37, and Mrs Alice F Hann of the Women's Voluntary Services, 63.

It was commissioned by their fellow members of the East Cowes Civil Defence Warden and Ambulance Service.

The Isle of Wight was subject to frequent German air raids during the Second World War. Several bombs fell on the area of Cowes and East Cowes, with some of the worst raids occurring on May 4 and 5, 1942, in which two of the East Cowes Civil-Defence service people named on this memorial died.

The base of the cross memorial is carved to represent an ARP wardens helmet, lamp and water bottle among rubble.

Totland Bay War Memorial

The Totland memorial was erected by the beginning of 1920 by the West Wight Monumental Company. By May 1920 the area around the memorial had been completed, with iron railings installed and shrubs planted along the path running to the memorial.

Following the end of the Second World War, the names of 15 local men who died were added. Two further names from the Second World War were added after 1998.

Four additional names omitted from the First World War have also been added. The memorial was originally located at the southern end of the Broadway, but was relocated to its present location at the junction of Church Hill and Weston Road when the road junction became a roundabout.

Restoration of the memorial was carried out by Totland Parish Council in 1999.

Binstead War Memorial

The land was given by John Willis Fleming, who had lost a son during the First World War. Binstead War Memorial commemorates 27 members of the local community who lost their lives during the war.

Two of the names commemorated belong to a husband and wife, Lt-Cdr Henry Thomas Gartside-Tipping and Mary Gartside-Tipping. Lt-Cdr Gartside-Tipping was a naval officer who died at the age of 67 in 1915 while in command of HM yacht Sanda which was sunk off the Belgian coast. At the time of his death, Gartside-Tipping was reported as being the oldest officer in active service in the Royal Navy. Following her husband’s death, Mrs Gartside-Tipping signed up for voluntary service in France with the Women’s Emergency Corps and was shot and killed in March 1917 by a soldier suffering from a psychiatric disorder. She was buried at Vauxbuin French National Cemetery with a full military funeral and awarded the croix de guerre, which had previously been withheld from women.

Following the end of the Second World War a further inscription and the names of 11 people who lost their lives were added. The memorial was cleaned and the lettering restored in 2008.

Lake War Memorial

Erected as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 210 members of the local community who served and 56 who died during the First World War.

Next to it is a Grade II-listed memorial drinking fountain and trough to animals (dogs and horses) lost during the First World War.

The trough was originally situated at the junction of Lake Hill and Sandown Road. By 1992 the trough had been moved to the junction of Lake Hill and The Fairway and in 1998 the memorial cross was also relocated to this site.

Further plaques were added to the memorial cross in 1999, commemorating 22 members of the community who lost their lives in the Second World War, and in 2012, relating to the Malayan Emergency.

Brighstone War Memorial

Brighstone War Memorial this year, with Medina Marching Band paying respects. Picture by Kevin Downer.

Brighstone War Memorial was unveiled in 1920 by the Parish Rector. It commemorates 18 servicemen of the community who gave their lives in the First World War.

A further inscription and the names of five who died in the Second World War were added following that conflict and inscribed by Wight Stonemasonry, and a sixth name was added at a later date.

It can be found outside of the boundary wall of the churchyard at the junction of Main Road and New Road.

War memorial within the churchyard of Parish Church of St Lawrence, Ventnor

This war memorial commemorates the 12 local men who died during the First World War, seven in the Second World War and one in the Malaysian Emergency.

Shanklin War Memorial

Shanklin War Memorial is a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 84 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

It was unveiled on November 11, 1920 by Mrs White Popham who had donated the site, known as Vernon Meadows, and dedicated by the Reverend R. M. Curwen.

The main inscription has been altered to include the dates of the Second World War and further First World War names have been added.

In 1995, a Second World War memorial, in the form of a curved wall, was erected to the rear of the memorial cross. This commemorates 39 servicemen who died in the Second World War as well as 13 Fire Service personnel who were killed when Shanklin Fire Station was bombed during an air raid.

The memorial cross underwent repair works in 2014 to replace some of the panels on the memorial which had deteriorated.