War Memorial
Sandy War Memorial, Bedford Road, Sandy, SG19 1EY.
Sandy Town Council owns and maintains the War Memorial in Bedford Road. Please advise us immediately in the event of any damage or concerns about the war memorial.
The War Memorial is constructed of Portland Stone from a design by architect Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now Commonwealth War Graves Commission) known as the Cross of Sacrifice. It is a freestanding four point limestone Latin cross. On the face of the cross is a bronze broadsword, blade down mounted on an octagonal base. The Cross represents the faith of the majority of the dead and the sword represents the military character of the memorial .
The memorial was unveiled 0n 4 August 1921. It had been funded from £560 raised by public subscription and it had been erected by memorial masons Messrs A Hunt. The unveiling took place in front of a large crowd of parishioners and was conducted by Colonel Maunsell Bowers of Beeston Grange, whose son Captain Arthur Bowers had been killed in 1915. Other memorials were erected within the town, including the Parish Church where there is an impressive carved Roll of Honour in the South Transept designed by Maile and Son with a fine stained glass window by Percy Bacon with figures depicting Courage and Victory.
There are 129 names of Sandy men killed in the First and Second World Wars on the memorial and you can find out more about each of them by checking the Roll of Honour which contains individual details. There is also information about the deaths of servicemen from Sandy in the Bedfordshire County Archives, click this link for information about them on the Archives' website.
The war memorial has been restored on several occasions most recently in 2017 when Sandy Town Council secured funding from the War Memorial Trust to have the memorial refurbished. Work included repair of cracked stone, repair of joint gaps, re-blacking of all names and cleaning.
Following the completion of the 2017 refurbishment work a rededication service was held by the Sandy Royal British Legion on 13th August 2017. The Council installed a plaque to commemorate the rededication.