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Government and English Heritage mark First World War Centenary by upgrading listed status of London war memorials

On the day that Helen Grant MP, Minister for the First World War Centenary, opens a new exhibition at the Wellington Arch honouring First World War Memorials, English Heritage and the DCMS have also announced that the listed status of five major London war memorials have been upgraded.

The Edith Cavell Memorial, St Martin’s Place, Westminster – upgraded from Grade II to Grade I
Royal Artillery Memorial, Hyde Park Corner, Westminster – upgraded from Grade II* to Grade I
Machine Gun Corps Memorial, Hyde Park Corner, Westminster – upgraded from Grade II to Grade II*
Statue of the Field Marshall Earl Haig, Whitehall, Westminster – upgraded from Grade II to II*
Belgian Monument to the British Nation, Victoria Embankment, Westminster – upgraded from Grade II to Grade II*
The Cenotaph, Whitehall, Westminster – list entry enhanced (already one of the few Grade I listed memorials)

Helen Grant MP said: “Memorials link the tragic impact of world wars with local communities across the land. During the First World War all parts of the country sent men off to fight and women off to work. Virtually all suffered losses. It’s time to consider how we can keep these memorials prominent in the public eye.”

Roger Bowdler, English Heritage Designation Director, said: “No area of our heritage is more poignant than that of war memorials. The absence of the Commonwealth’s 1.1 million dead created a powerful need for monuments, and led to the greatest surge of public remembrance in our history. We hope this exhibition deepens present-day understanding of that grief and inspires people to take care of their local memorial as a result.”

Today’s upgrades bring the number of Grade I listed, free standing, war memorials in England to five. Others include: Liverpool Cenotaph, the Cenotaph on Whitehall and the Leicester Victory Arch.

It isn’t known exactly how many war memorials there are but the total runs to many thousands and so far fewer than 10% of free-standing war memorials are listed. English Heritage has pledged to list up to 500 war memorials per year from 2014-2018, doubling the number on the National Heritage List for England over the next five years. We are working with War Memorials Trust to enlist volunteer help in achieving this. The public can help by submitting nominations.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/listing/listed-buildings/listing-war-memorials/