Cenotaph – Blogging while allatsea

Liverpool Cenotaph

05/06/2018

cenotaph, Heritage, Liverpool, Memorials elsewhere, Outside RSA, ships and shipping, United Kingdom, World War 1, World War 2

The Cenotaph in Liverpool may be found at Google Earth co-ordinates 53.408540°, -2.979478°, it is situated in front of St George’s Hall and consists of a rectangular block of stone on a platform, with bronze, low-relief sculptures on the sides depicting marching troops and mourners. It was designed by Lionel Budden, with carving by Herbert Tyson Smith. It is a Grade I listed building.

The inscription on the front face reads:

TO THE THE MEN OF LIVERPOOL WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR

AND ALL WHO HAVE FALLEN IN CONFLICT SINCE.

AND THE VICTORY THAT DAY WAS TURNED INTO MOURNING UNTO ALL THE PEOPLE

This addition to the Cenotaph was unveiled in May 2003 by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Jack Spriggs. The inscription reads:

THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATES

THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC

AND THE PIVOTAL ROLE PLAYED BY THE CITY

AND PORT OF LIVERPOOL IN THIS THE

LONGEST AND MOST CRUCIAL SEA AND AIR

CAMPAIGN OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

THIS BATTLE LASTED 5 YEARS, 8 MONTHS, 4 DAYS;
HAD IT BEEN LOST, SO TOO WOULD HAVE BEEN THE WAR

BY THE MARKER, LIVERPOOL’S UNPARALLELED SERVICE
AND SACRIFICE SHALL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

As far as Cenotaphs go it is really not a very noticeable one, although the carvings are very beautiful. It is really overshadowed by the very large St George’s Hall behind it and while appropriate to the setting is just does not make much of an impact.

The inscription on the rear face reads:

AS UNKNOWN AND YET WELL KNOWN AS DYING AND BEHOLD WE LIVE.

OUT OF THE NORTH PARTS, A GREAT COMPANY AND A MIGHTY ARMY

It was only dedicated in November 1930 and the delay was attributed to the Lord Mayor who announced that due to the high unemployment he was postponing the appeal for funds. The appeal was finally initiated in 1925.

Tewkesbury War Memorial

JA

20/06/2015

Memorials elsewhere, Outside RSA, Parish Memorial, ROH, United Kingdom, World War 1, World War 2

The War Memorial in Tewkesbury is situated on an island that sits at the intersection of Barton Str, Church Str, and High Street. Google Earth co-ordinates are 51°59’32.75″N, 2° 9’27.29″W.

This position also makes it very difficult to photograph because of all the traffic going past (and it never seems to stop). It is also very vulnerable to any vehicle that misses the turning, although I have no statistics as to how many times it has been hit. (2010 a vehicle collided with it).

The memorial is also known as the Tewkesbury Cross and is described as: “A tapered octagonal shaft with moulded capital and a cross, on an octagonal plinth cut through by a square base with diagonal buttresses at centres of the sides, carrying 4 pinnacles. All set on a broad 3-step hexagonal base, the lowest step with nosing, on a final hexagonal platform which has been rounded, and protected by 6 stone bollards. The cross carries a central shield of arms, and the base has a series of 6 bronze plates with the names of the fallen inscribed, dated 1914-1919 (sic). A further plate has been added covering the years 1939-1945.” (http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-376922-war-memorial-tewkesbury-gloucestershire#.VYWwmmerP5I)

There is also a very impressive World War One Memorial in nearby Tewkesbury Abbey.

And in the neighbouring parish of Ashchurch there is another War Memorial.

Ashchurch War Memorial

Sutton Coldfield War Memorial

JA

28/04/2015

cenotaph, Memorials elsewhere, Outside RSA, ROH, United Kingdom, World War 1, World War 2

Sutton Coldfield War Memorial may be found at Google Earth co-ordinates 52.566082°, -1.824315°. It stands on a traffic circle close to the town hall and is a very impressive memorial.

It was unveiled on 01 November 1922, and consists of single 1.8 metre bronze figure on a 4.6 metre Dalbeattie granite pedestal. There are plaques on three of the faces, covering both World Wars.

The memorial was designed by Francis-Doyle Jones, and cost of the memorial was met by the Voluntary Subscription Fund. It was restored in 1979.

War Memorials in Walsall

JA

25/04/2015

Cemetery, cenotaph, Memorials elsewhere, Outside RSA, United Kingdom, Victoria Cross, World War 1, World War 2

The town of Walsall in Staffordshire, has a lot of War Memorials, and rather than creating individual pages for each one, I will rather put them altogether in one page and slowly split them off as I get to them one day. Images open in a new window.

Apart from the Cenotaph, the major memorials are situated in the Council House, and there are 4 that I know of, as well as 3 VC plaques that I did not know of at the time. There are also war memorials at St Matthews Parish Church, as well as St Marys of the Mount Roman Catholic Church.

As far as I am concerned the most spectacular memorial was the Alabaster Memorial by Messrs R Bridgman which must have stood in the St Paul’s Church close to the Council House. This has been “re-invented” and the memorial was moved to the Council House in 2002. There is however still a war memorial in the church, although it is a much smaller one.

War memorial in the former St Pauls church

The Alabaster Memorial is a beautiful memorial, and unfortunately it is not easily accessible. I was fortunate that helpful staff did take the time to show it to me, along with 3 other memorials in close proximity to it.

The Alabaster Memorial

Information plaque

The next memorial in this particular passage is a Boer War Memorial. Unfortunately the legibility of the memorial is not that great, but the inscription reads as follows:

ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
TO COMMEMORATE THE NAMES OF THE OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED
OFFICERS, AND MEN OF THE 2ND VOLUNTEER BATTALION, SOUTH STAFFORD
SHIRE WHO VOLUNTARILY AND GALLANTLY SERVED THEIR
SOVEREIGN AND COUNTRY IN THE BOER WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA 1900-1

Boer War Memorial

The next Memorial is the Roll of Honour of the Walsall Corporation employees who gave their lives in The Great War.

Wallsal Corporation War Memorial

The final memorial in the council house I could not photograph completely. It is situated in a large hall, and comprises of at least 8 name plaques affixed to the walls of the hall, and 2 large murals flanking the pipe organ on the stage. There was also an addendum plaque to the memorial which was for those who died in service in the Korean and Malayan war, Falklands conflict, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cyprus and Germany.

Walsall Borough War Memorial Dedication

Murals flanking the pipe organ

The church of St Matthew overlooks the city from a hill, and it too has a war memorial, albeit in an awkward place. Photography here was almost impossible, but there are three name plaques that are not visible in the photograph.

St Matthews Parish Church War Memorial

St Mary of the Mount Roman Catholic Church has a small memorial in the parking lot, dedicated to the men of the parish who died during the two world wars.

St Mary’s of the Mount War Memorial

I am very sure that there are other memorials in the city and if/when I go back I will track down the three VC plaques, and attempt to obtain images of all the plaques in the Hall at the Council House.

Currently there is only a statue to commemorate John Henry Carless VC, which is situated outside the Library.

John Henry Carless VC

And at Queen Street Cemetery a small plaque announces that this was the burial place of James Thompson VC. Unfortunately I could not find a physical grave for him, although I do not know whether his grave has been formally restored.

I was really surprised by the memorials I had seen in the city, and I suspect there may be more, although accessing them is always a problem. Who knows what a return trip will reveal. My blogpost about visiting Walsall may be found on my other blog

Walsall Cenotaph

JA

25/04/2015

cenotaph, Memorials elsewhere, Military, Outside RSA, United Kingdom, World War 1, World War 2

The cenotaph in Walsall, Staffordshire may be found at Google Earth co-ordinates 52.583179°, -1.983704°, it is situated on a small island in the middle of a roundabout.

What does make this cenotaph interesting is that it is located on the site of a bomb which was dropped by Zeppelin ‘L 21’ which killed the town’s mayoress and two others. It was erected on 1 October 1921.

The town also has a large number of War Memorials in it which I will deal with separately.

The Hall of Memory, Birmingham

JA

11/04/2015

cenotaph, Memorials elsewhere, ROH, United Kingdom, World War 1, World War 2

The major War Memorial in Birmingham is the Hall of Memory. I visited it on 10 April 2014, and it was a very pretty structure, although I do expect many people have very little idea of what it is or represents. The Hall of Memory was built to commemorate the 12320 Birmingham citizens who died and the 35000 who were wounded in the First World War.

When I arrived that morning it was still closed (it opens at 10am), so I was able to have a look at the four statues that surround it. Each representing a branch of the armed service as well as the Women’s Service.

Inside the chamber it is solemn, and the centerpiece is a sarcophagus-shaped dais in which are two Rolls of Honour from both World Wars.

A further Roll of Honour is in a glass case behind the main one, and this is for those who lost their lives in further conflicts after the Second World War.

In each of the four corners there are niches that are currently holding the many wreaths and tributes that were made since Remembrance Day, and Poppy Crosses surround the central dias.

Three bas-reliefs are affixed high up on each wall, and they each have a message for those left behind.

The Hall of Memory was designed by S. N. Cooke and W. Norman Twist and was opened by H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught on 4th July 1925.

Reading War Memorial

JA

25/02/2015

cenotaph, Memorials elsewhere, Outside RSA, United Kingdom, World War 1, World War 2

The War Memorial in Reading is not really a spectacular memorial, it does not have any Roll of Honour, or any of the trappings normally associated with war memorials that I have seen, in fact it is probably better described as a Cenotaph. It is situated on a small island outside the gates of Forbury Gardens at Google Earth co-ordinates 51.456553°, -0.968066°.

Reading War Memorial

Inscription

Interestingly enough, not too far away from the cenotaph, affixed to a building next to St Laurence Church is a plaque relating to the bombing of Reading on 10 February 1943.

Bombing Incident Plaque

Hook War Memorial

JA

19/02/2015

cenotaph, Hampshire Memorials, Memorials elsewhere, Outside RSA, Parish Memorial, United Kingdom, West Rand, World War 1

The War Memorial in the village of Hook, may be found on the traffic island between London and Newnham Roads just outside Hook. at Google Earth co-ordinates 51.280389° -0.968156°

Hook War Memorial

The memorial is inscribed:

AD 1920
This Stone of Remembrance was
raised in honour of the men of the
Parishes of
Newnham and Nately Scures
who laid down their lives for
their country
in The Great War

There are plaques from both world wars on the memorial.

1914-1918

1939-1945

A number of local casualties are remembered on a war memorial in the church of St Nicholas Newnham.

Memorial in St Nicholas Newnham

Germiston Cenotaph

JA

13/10/2014

cenotaph, East Rand, Extinct Memorials, Heritage, ROH, World War 1, World War 2

I spotted the Germiston and Districts War Memorial purely by accident after taking a wrong turn on my way home on 14 November 200. The Memorial is on the corner of Odendaal and President Strs. Germiston, in front of the former Carnegie Library. Sadly though it had been desecrated and defaced and was used as a drinking spot as well as a posterboard for abortions. Ironically, Remembrance Day was only a few days before, and it was doubtful whether any remembering was done in Germiston that year, or for a few years before or afterwards.

Germiston and Districts War Memorial

WW2 Face

The Memorial on the corner

WW1 Face

In 2013 I received reports that the plaques had been removed from the memorial and nobody knew who or why they had been removed, the area was also fenced and my instinct said that some sort of development was going to happen but nobody could inform me what it was or whether the plaques were in storage. I feared the worst. Unfortunately the war memorials on the East Rand and a travesty of remembrance, and it seemed as if yet another extinct memorial was in the offing.

However, an interesting article appeared on the Heritage Portal which leads me to believe that there may be hope at the end of the tunnel for the derelict Carnegie Library and the memorial. In the article it confirms that the plaques were stolen in 2013. The Memorial will be restored as part of the project with replica plaques and “…commemoration of the African contribution to the war effort of the First World War be added to the extant memorial.” Work on the new theatre is due to commence in November 2014, although I am always sceptical about these things. But, I live in hope.

The derelict former Carnegie Library

However, until such times as I know otherwise, this memorial is considered to be extinct.

Update: As at 29/10/2015 the link to the Heritage Portal article redirects to a front page only and no longer to the article. The article has been moved to the following location: http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/rebirth-germiston-carnegie-library

The Cenotaph in Southampton.

JA

06/03/2014

cenotaph, Hampshire Memorials, Memorials elsewhere, Outside RSA, ROH, World War 1, World War 2

The Southampton Cenotaph may be found in Watts Park in Southampton city centre. It was designed by Edward Lutyens, and originally dedicated to the casualties of World War 1, and was unveiled in 1920. The soft stone used in its construction did not weather well, and in 2011 glass panels were unveiled with the names of the World War I casualties and, in addition, those from Southampton who had died in later conflicts.

Remembrance Day 2013

There are 2368 names on the green glass panels. It was at this cenotaph that I spent my first Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom.The Titanic Engineers Memorial is across the street from the cenotaph.

Google Earth co-ordinates are: 50.909654°, -1.405196°

Blogging while allatsea

Tag: Cenotaph

Liverpool Cenotaph

Tewkesbury War Memorial

Sutton Coldfield War Memorial

War Memorials in Walsall

Walsall Cenotaph

The Hall of Memory, Birmingham

Reading War Memorial

Hook War Memorial

Germiston Cenotaph

The Cenotaph in Southampton.

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