War memorials

The town’s war memorial, based in Georges Square, is owned and maintained by the town council and we also take care of the surrounding gardens.

The exact date the memorial was built and inaugurated is unknown, but it is believed to have been consecrated in the early-1980s.

The memorial was enhanced in 2018 as part of the First World War centenary commemorations. New granite plaques replaced the old ones and were installed on the existing memorial structure. At that time, five names were added to the memorial, as well as the rank and service or regiment of the fallen.

At the town cemetery there are 14 commonwealth war graves, including the HMS Formidable tomb where six crew members are buried. HMS Formidable was sunk by torpedo on 1 January 1915 and the six sailors were brought ashore in a lifeboat.

The Polish Air Force memorial can be found in Anning Road. Restored in 2007, it pays tribute to the thousands of Polish airmen who died defending Britain during the Second World War.

Another of the town’s war memorials can be found at St Michael’s Parish Church in the form of a large window, installed in 1921. The tablets under the memorial record the names of those from Lyme Regis who lost their lives in the two world wars.

The Millennium Clock in Cobb Gate car park also gives thanks to ‘those from Lyme Regis who in the Twentieth Century gave up their lives in defence of their country’.