Cross of Sacrifice

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Dundonald War Memorial is set at the highest point of Dundonald Cemetery and is a five metre high, grey limestone war memorial, facing north/south, which honours the dead of World War 1. Commissioned by the Imperial War Graves Commission and designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, the memorial was erected between 1927 and 1931. On the north and south faces of the cross are two large bronze Excalibur-type swords, echoing the shape of the cross.

The base of the war memorial is an octagon with two rows of rusticated limestone blocks topped with smooth limestone slabs. Above this sits a smaller octagonal limestone plinth topped with slim, smooth, overlapping slabs. On this rests the stepped octagonal base to the stone cross which is inscribed on three sides with the wording:
"This cross of sacrifice is one in design and intention with those which have been set up in France and Belgium and other places throughout the world where our dead of the Great War are laid to rest. Their name liveth for evermore."

A limestone cross rises from this base. The cross is octagonal on plan with the upright shaft swept in from a shallow base and tapering slightly as it rises towards the horizontal members. The exposed ends to the vertical and horizontal members step out to create the illusion of lightly larger octagonal stone end pieces.

Surmounted on the north and south faces of the cross are two large bronze Excalibur-type swords the hilt of which are centred at the crossing point.

Materials:
Plinth: Limestone
Cross: Limestone
Ornamentation: Bronze

Setting:
The War Memorial is located at the highest point of Dundonald Cemetery on the main roadway within the site which leads directly from the main gates.

Historical information

The Cross of Sacrifice, a limestone war memorial located within Dundonald Cemetery, was constructed between 1927 and 1931. Following the end of the First World War the Imperial War Graves Commission (established in 1917 - now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) appointed Sir Reginald Blomfield to design a standard war memorial that would be erected in Commonwealth cemeteries that contained more than 40 war graves. Blomfield (1856-1942) was a prolific London-based architect who also designed the Belgian War Memorial at Victoria Embankment (1917), Menin Gate Memorial and St. George’s Memorial Church in Ypres (1922; 1928) and the Royal Air Force Memorial in London (1923).

The Commission approved Blomfield’s standard design for the Cross of Sacrifice, which was a simple freestanding limestone cross usually mounted upon an octagonal base. Upon the face of the cross was a bronze sword (in the style of Excalibur) that faced downwards. The marrying of the cross and sword was intended to represent the faith and self-sacrifice of those who had died during the Great War. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records that Blomfield designed the memorial as a simple cross in order ‘to keep clear of any of the sentimentalities of Gothic’ (CWGC). Upon the octagonal base of the every memorial was engraved the following standard inscription: ‘THIS CROSS OF SACRIFICE IS ONE IN DESIGN AND INTENTION WITH THOSE WHICH HAVE BEEN SET UP IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM AND OTHER PLACES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WHERE OUR DEAD OF THE GREAT WAR ARE LAID TO REST. THEIR NAME LIVETH FOREVERMORE.’

Dundonald Cemetery was established as a result of the growth in Belfast’s population at the turn of the 20th century. In 1897 Belfast Corporation purchased 45 acres of Land in the townland of Ballymiscaw, Dundonald, for £5,600. The new cemetery was laid out in plots in 1904 with the first burial taking place in the following year. By the end of the First World War the bodies of 76 soldiers (and other casualties) had been buried at Dundonald Cemetery making the graveyard eligible for the erection of a Cross of Sacrifice. The minutes of the Belfast Cemeteries Committee record that representatives of the Imperial War Graves Commission visited the city in November 1926 to select a suitable site for the memorial at Dundonald Cemetery as well as an identical cross at City Cemetery(Listed under HB26/25/001L). In 1927 the local building firm Haslett Brothers were contracted to carry out the construction of both memorials. The Cross of Sacrifice at Dundonald had been completed by 1931 when it was first depicted on the Ordnance Survey maps. The map depicted the plinth of the memorial in its current location at the top of the hill overlooking the rest of the cemetery. Since its construction the Cross of Sacrifice at Dundonald Cemetery has been included in local annual commemorations of the First World War. The committee minutes note that in July 1932 the British Legion requested permission for its members to parade in the cemetery and to place a wreath at the memorial as part of the Somme Anniversary (Scott; Minutes).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/3/5/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1919-20)
2. PRONI OS/6/3/5/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1938-39)
3. PRONI LA/7/11/AA/3-4 – Minute Books of the Belfast Cemeteries Committee (1926-1937)
4. PRONI OS/10/3/5/9/2 – Ordnance Survey (County Series) Map (1931)

Secondary Sources
1. Scott, R., ‘A breath of fresh air: The story of Belfast’s parks’ Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 2000.

Online Resources
1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission website - http://www.cwgc.org/
2. Belfast City Council website - http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/community/cemeteries/dundonaldcemetery.aspx

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
U. Historic Associations

Evaluation

A tall and imposing memorial cross to designs by Sir Reginald Blomfield and constructed by Messrs Haslett of Abercorn Road, Derry. The cross, located at the highest point of Dundonald Cemetery provides a sombre reminder of the ultimate sacrifice given by local people during World War I. The war memorial, erected between 1927 and 1931 and commissioned by the Imperial War Graves Commission, contributes to the overall setting within the cemetery. A Cross of Sacrifice was also commissioned in Belfast City Cemetery(HB26.25.001L).