Brief description: Design for a 3 light stained glass window depicting Christ with the cross
This is a war memorial window with dedication from the North Aisle of the church. The design stretches across all three lights. In the centre, Jesus, dressed in a sacrificial white, carries his cross. Light beams down upon him, and an angel carries a crown above his shoulders. Entwining foliage links Christ to various wartime workers, men on the left and women on the right. The men are, from top to bottom, a soldier leaning on a rifle, a sailor, a kneeling pilot, an air raid warden, and two more soldiers. The women are, from top to bottom, a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, a factory worker, a member of the Women's Royal Naval Service, a kneeling member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, a nurse, and a labourer from the Women's Land Army. Women played key roles as military support staff like cooks and switchboard operators, nurses, factory workers, and agricultural labourers during both wars. Ely Cathedral is depicted in the bottom of the centre light. Ely Cathedral was used as a landmark by Allied bombers returning to England, and came to symbolise safety and defiance. Linking Jesus' sacrifice on the cross to sacrifices made during both World Wars was intended to glorify their struggle and bring it into an eternal, hopeful narrative. The tracery lights bear a line from For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon, a popular memorial poem composed at the outbreak of the First World War. This design was created by Christopher Webb (1886–1966), an English stained glass designer based in St Albans, Hertfordshire. He studied at the Slade School of Art and was then articled to Sir Ninian Comper. During his active career from 1920 to 1964 he produced over 400 windows with a distinctive character and style.
Object type: preparatory artwork design
Number of objects: 1
Production date: 11.1947
Production period: 20th century
Designer: Christopher Webb (1886 - 1966)
Dimensions: Height: 234 mm, Width: 290 mm
Inscription: top of window WE WILL REMEMBER THEM centre of window ANY MAN WILL COME AFTER ME LET HIM DENY HIMSELF AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME base of window THANKING GOD FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THIS CHURCH AND PARISH AND IN MEMORY OF ALL MEMBERS OF THE FIGHTING FORCES AND CIVIL DEFENCE SERVICE WHO WORKED, FOUGHT, AND DIED IN THE SERVICE OF KING AND COUNTRY IN THE 1914–1918 & 1939–1945 WARS.
Original location: Little Downham, Cambridgeshire
Acquisition: gift 13.3.2024
Acquisition source: Edwards, J
This item is not currently on display and can only be viewed by prior arrangement
Accession number: ELYGM:2024.14.1
