THE Kingsbridge and Dodbrooke War Memorial has been awarded Grade II listed status, thanks to the work of local man David Mason.

David took it upon himself to get the monument listed in light of the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.

David discovered that Natural England were inviting application, and that the vast majority war memorials in the country aren’t listed.

The war memorial in Kingsbridge was erected in 1925 at a cost of £350 to commemorate the sacrifice made by by local communities.

The memorial to the soldiers of Kingsbridge and Dodbrooke, which was set up at a prominent and peaceful location in the Promenade Gardens, was unveiled on 11 November 1925 by Major General E W Alexander, VC.

The memorial was altered after the Second World War, with the addition of the names of the soldiers who had died in that conflict, together with those of a group of civilians who had been killed in the town in small-scale bombing raids on 2 January and 16 February 1943.

The memorial takes the form of a statue of Hope, shown with her anchor, on a moulded and carved base. She stands on a tall, square-section plinth with deeply-moulded cap and foot.

The faces of the plinth are set with polished granite plaques bearing inscriptions picked out in gold lettering: ‘To the glory of God and in loving memory of the men of Kingsbridge and Dodbrooke who lost their lives as a result of the Great War 1914-1918.’

This is followed by the names of the 68 soldiers who had died in the conflict followed by the names of 30 soldiers and 16 of the civilians who had lost their lives in the Second World War.

Martin Johnson, Kingsbridge town clerk, said: ’It’s absolutely fantastic that David took up the challenge to get the Kingsbridge War Memorial listed.

He undertook all the necessary research, made the application as a member to public direct to Historic England and this successful outcome is solely due to his enterprise.

‘Thank you David for a sterling job.’