Memorial details

Memorial type
Shrine
District
Oswestry
Town
Ruyton of The Eleven Towns
County
Shropshire
Country
England
Commemoration
First World War (1914-1918), Second World War (1939-1945)
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: 10 October 1920
    Attended by: Major General Lionel R Kenyon CB
  • Dedicated
    Date: 10 October 1920
    Attended by: Reverend W D Craven
  • Show More (1)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
13823

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Current location

east of the village on the south side of the road.
Brownhill Street (B4397)
Ruyton of The Eleven Towns
Oswestry
Shropshire
SY4 1LR
England

OS Grid Ref: SJ 39784 22247
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Description
Shrine: Wall-mounted cross, WW1 tablet and WW2 plaque set within small roadside cave cut into sandstone cliff wall. WW1 tablet bears the arms of the ancient borough of Ruyton, and those of the county of Shropshire, and a laurel wreath between the arms. There are two sandstone seats in the cave, one against the left wall of the memorial, and one against the right wall of the memorial.
Inscription
Above cave entrance: 1914 - 1919/ 1939 1945 WW1 tablet: 1914 - 1919/ THE GREAT WAR/ IN MEMORY OF/ (NAMES)/ WE WILL REMEMBER THEM/ THIS PRESENT LIFE IS NOT THE END/ ALSO IN HONOUR OF/ THE 130 OTHER MEN WHO SERVED FROM/ RUYTON-XI-TOWNS WW2 plaque: 1939 - 1945/ (NAMES)
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Beddows, Maurice
Braddick, Samuel
Brayne, John
Clemson, James
Cunningham, Charles
Edwards, James
Hanmer, Edward
Haste, Albert
Jones, Benjamin
Jones, Richard
See details for all 22 names
Commemorations
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 18
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 18
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Surname, forename.
    Order of information: Alphabetical by surname.
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 5
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 5
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Surname, forename.
    Order of information: Alphabetical by surname.
Components
  • Tablet
    Measurements: height 686mm, width 457mm
    Materials: Porcelain
  • Seat
    Measurements: depth 1880mm, height 330mm, width 394mm
    Materials: Stone - Sandstone
  • Memorial
    Measurements: depth 2540mm, height 3327mm, width 2337mm
    Materials: Stone - Sandstone
  • Cross
    Measurements: height 3175mm, width 1219mm
    Materials: Stone - Sandstone
  • Plaque
    Measurements: height 267mm, width 502mm
    Materials: Unknown
Listing information
  • WAR MEMORIAL
  • Grade II
  • This memorial is protected, and listed on the National Heritage List for England maintained by Historic England. View list entry
  • More about listing and the protection of historic places can be found on the Historic England website
  • Historic England
Condition
History
2006: Another name added WW1 DATES ETCHED ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE CAVE BECOMING FAINT (1992) The memorial was a cave to prevent moss growth.
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Sponsorship
Public
Responsibility
Parish Council
Reference
  • "WAR CROSS IN CAVE. Ruyton's Unique Memorial." Border Advertizer, 13 October 1920.
  • "RUYTON XI TOWNS. WAR MEMORIAL." Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News, 4 August 1923, p.5, column 8.
  • "RUYTON XI TOWNS. WAR MEMORIAL." Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News, 3 May 1919, p.7, column 2.
  • "RUYTON XI TOWNS The War Memorial." Eddowes Journal, 22 October 1920, p. 5.
  • "A UNIQUE MEMORIAL War Cross in a cave at Ruyton." Eddowes Journal (Shrewsbury Chronicle), 15 October 1920, p. 8, column 4.
  • "Ruyton-XI-Towns The War Memorial." Shrewsbury Chronicle, 22 October 1920, p.5 column 5.
  • Boorman, Derek. At the Going Down of the Sun. 1988. p. 73.

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

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© WMR-13823

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