Oxford War Memorial

About

Oxford War Memorial is a First World War memorial in Oxford, at the north end of St Giles', on the junction where the road splits into the A4144 Woodstock Road and the A4165 Banbury Road. The memorial stands in St Giles Memorial Garden, about 150 m (490 ft) to the south of St Giles' Church, Oxford. It was unveiled in 1921 and became a Grade II listed structure in 2016.

The Grade II* listed Martyrs' Monument stands about 350 m (1,150 ft) south, at the other end of St Giles'. The memorial commission selected a design by John Egerton Thorpe, but the work was "worked out" by Gilbert Thomas Francis Gardner and Thomas Rayson; later research suggests the final design is primarily the work of Rayson. Rayson also designed other war memorials in Oxfordshire, including those in Witney and Woodstock, and collaborated with Frederick Crossley on the design for Chester War Memorial.

All are based on medieval standing crosses, perhaps the White Cross in Hereford. It comprises a tall cross, decorated with fleur-de-lys between the angles, on a slender tapering octagonal shaft, mounted on an octagonal plinth, resting on an octagonal base with seven steps – five similar steps, a sixth broader step...