Tottington Cenotaph

Tottington Cenotaph

I had hoped that this monument had the list of all the fallen on it, but it appeared to have the 2 panels removed. Got to admit the many times that I saw it I never recalled any names there. However although it is small it is quite imposing. It is set at the Bury end of the village in the same plot of land as Tottington Hall. This is now a library and other council buildings. I spent many happy hours there. It always had a strange smell. No other library I had been in ever smelled the same. This picture quite possibly "lives" in my nearly midnight blog. I believe the names that should have been inscribed on the monument were published in the Bury Times around 1930. More research. I cannot believe that there is not a copy in the library. This memorial is recorded in the UK War Memorials archive as 438438.

Update:- March 2012

The cenotaph in the late evening sun
The inscription reads:
"We owe more tears to these dead men than time shall see us pay"This appears to paraphrase Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.


The exact speech by Brutus in Act V:

Are yet two Romans living such as these?
The last of all the Romans, fare thee well!
It is impossible that ever Rome
Should breed thy fellow. Friends, I owe more tears
To this dead man than you shall see me pay.
I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time.
Come, therefore, and to Thasos send his body:
His funerals shall not be in our camp,
Lest it discomfort us. Lucilius, come;
And come, young Cato; let us to the field.
Labeo and Flavius, set our battles on:
'Tis three o'clock; and, Romans, yet ere night
We shall try fortune in a second fight.

Interestingly this very inscription above appears on many memorials
spread around the UK. A fine sentiment -
but perplexing as he speaks it before his own self inflicted death.

 The pictures below show the two badges allegedly designed by Walter Marsden the sculptor, and also the lamp at the very base of the memorial. I have examined these badges in great detail both from the photographs and in "the flesh" There does not appear to be WM anywhere. The St Annes' Monuments and the Bolton Monuments are both signed.

Rising Sun - regeneration

Dove - Peace

The lamp at the base - slightly damaged I think

The rear of the monument

This is a transcription of the Unveiling of Tottington War Memorial that was printed in the Bury Guardian on the 19th of April 1930. I also have a copy of the Bury Times, which goes into more detail but is harder to read. This will be published too. It includes a list of the fallen.

Tottington War Memorial Unveiled

CROWD AT SOLEMN CEREMONY

FITFUL SHOWERS AMID SUNSHINE

TRIBUTE TO 175 HEROES

Fitful showers of rain between bursts of brilliant sunshine were the prevailing conditions when the Tottington War Memorial was unveiled and the Garden of Remembrance opened on Sunday afternoon.

A vast crowd witness the solemn yet beautiful ceremony which was performed by Coun. Mrs. Margaret Kenyon. Others present were Coun. P. Wallace, Chairman of the Memorial committee; Coun. H. Williams, Chairman of the Urban District Council; Coun. H Harrison, Coun. D Clarkson, Coun. R. Wood, Messrs. H. Holt(clerk to the Council), T Beckett, W.W. Pilling, J. Knowles, T.
Naylor, A Todd, W Marsden M.C., A.R.B.S., A.R.E.C.A., the designer and sculptor. Members of the 5^th Batt. Lancs. Fusiliers attended under Capt. Whowell, and the Tottington Prize Band rendered the hymn accompaniments.

The monument has been designed to convey to the minds of the people the sacrifice made during the Great War by the men of Tottington and District, and that the onlookers shall realise that these men died for them. They gave all they possessed towards the victory which was ultimately achieved. The cross is the chief feature of the memorial, and its broad and simple treatment expresses the idea of a call of duty to serve humanity even unto death.

Looking at the monument from the front, the wreath on the left pier is composed of Flanders' poppies, out of which springs the rising sun. This symbolises that through sacrifice and death comes eternal life. On the opposite pier is a wreath of laurels with a dove in downward flight carrying a sprig of hay, which symbolises that through victory comes peace. There is also the quotation: “We owe more tears to these dead men than time shall see us pay.” These words make us realise that we owe these men a debt of everlasting gratitude.

The arrangement of the Garden of Remembrance is simple and direct, and is designed so as to be open to the public at any time of the day and night, to give a feeling that it is owned by each and every resident in Tottington and district. There will be no railings or gate used, so that it will be an invitation to every one that passes to enter.

The background composed of a privet hedge, takes the form of an alcove , in which the monument is placed, and flowers will only be grown round and near the memorial.

UNVEILING CEREMONY

The proceedings commenced with the singing of the hymn, “ O God, our help in ages past.”

The Rev. D.J. Chappell offered prayer and the Rev A.C. Metcalf read a portion of scripture.

Coun. P. Wallace, the chairman of the Memorial Committee, said: “Today is a memorable day in the history of Tottington and its people. It is not a day for many words, but one of deep gratitude and loving remembrance. Long have we hoped and prayed that the day would come when, as a community, we would dedicate a permanent memorial to the memory of Tottington's honoured sons. That day has come, and so welcome it is with deep thankfulness. Our hope is that this memorial may be counted of deceased soldiers and representatives of Sunday Schools and other institutions with which the men were connected.”

THE FALLEN SOLDIERS

There are no names on the memorial, but the names of the men of the district who lost their lives in the war are inscribed in the Book of Remembrance which will be preserved by the urban district council. They are the following:

Samuel Ainsworth,

C.T.Aldred,

James Aldred,

Arthur Aspinall,

H. Aspinall,

Joshua Bamford,

Harold Barlow (a),

Harold Barlow (b),

Robert Barlow,

William Barlow,

William Barton,

Fred Barnes,

Arthur Bentley,

Joseph Bentley,

Percy Bentley,

R Bentley,

Tom Bentley,

Joseph Hutchinson Bowker,

Arthur Alfred Bowdell,

Samuel W. Boardman,

Andrew Bridge,

Ralph Bridge,

Emmanuel Brooks,

Fred Brooks,

George Robert Brooks,

Harold Brooks,

Harry Brooks,

Harold Warburton Brooks,

Robert Brooks,

William Brooks,

Edgar W Bronskill,

J Bunting,

Giles Burton,

Jack Butterworth,

Edwin Chadwick,

James Edgar Chadwick,

John Nuttall Chadwick,

Fred Collins,

Edwin Collinson,

William Cotton,

Harvey Cowburn,

John Daniel Crane,

Thomas Davies,

Walter Dawes,

John Dawson,

C. Lowden Dearden,

Harry Dearden,

Joseph Dearden,

Frank Dolphin,

J.W. Downham,

Walker Dunn,

Arthur Duxbury,

Tom Earnshaw,

Albert Entwistle,

Arthur Entwistle,

William Arthur Fenton,

Bernard Firth,

Percy Fletcher,

Arthur Forshaw,

James William Forshaw,

George Forrest,

William Gates,

James Gilbert,

John William Gilbert,

D Greenhalgh,

Harry Greenhalgh,

Richard Grimshaw,

Harold Gorge,

Richard Groves,

Reggie Hall,

Richard Hall,

Arthur Halliwell,

William Hamer,

H. Hardman,

Solomon Harrison,

William Harrison,

Samuel Harrison,

Tom Hewitt,

Samuel Hibbert,

G. R. Hitchen,

James Gledhill Hockey,

George Holt,

John Holt,

Tom Holt,

E. Hobson,

James Hooks,

John Leslie Horridge,

Joseph Horrocks,

Charles Willis Howarth,

James Howarth,

Joseph Howarth,

John Howarth,

Robert Howarth,

Arthur Huddlestone,

James H. Hudson,

Arthur Hutchinson,

James Hutchinson,

William Hutchinson,

Francis John Ingram,

William H. Jones,

James E. Johnson,

C. Kay,

Ernest Kay,

Grimshaw Kay,

Harold Kay,

John Kay,

Milton Kay,

Tom Kay,

James Kenyon,

William Kenyon,

George Hartley Kershaw,

John C. King,

David Kipps,

Oswald Peter Lancelot,

Jack Leigh,

William B. Leigh,

William Longworth,

Tom Lonsdale,

Harry Lowe,

R. Lucas?

Irvine Makin,

Albert Cecil Meakes,

Arthur Meleleu,

J. McDonald,

Tom McDonald,

William McEwan,

William Mellwas, Not on the Bury Guardian version

John T. Millington,

Harry Morris

H. Morris,

J. Morris,

George Morris,

William Murfitt,

George Needham,

Joseph Nuttall,

Joseph Whittaker Nuttall,

William Nuttall,

Edgar Orrell,

J. Parkes,

James Parkinson,

Joseph Henry Pollitt,

Joseph Pooley,

Albert Porter,

David S. Queen,

J. Ramsden,

Frank Rigby,

W. P. Roberts,

Frank Rushton,

Fred P. Rushworth,

John F. Scholes,

Thomas Shaw,

James Smethurst,

C. Smith,

Thomas Edward Smith,

Tom Smithie,

William Street,

George Studholme,

W Taylor,

Henry Townson,

Albert Turner,

George Turner,

F. Turner,

Wilfred Unsworth,

G Wallace,

William Henry Walsh,

Robert Wardle,

Harry Gladstone Whittaker,

James Whittaker,

John Whittaker,

T. Wilkins,

Arthur Wilkinson,

Fred Wilkinson,

Frank Wroe,

William Yates,

Robert S. Young

 Please Forward me any additional information. It will be much appreciated. I believe several of the fallen may appear on the Walshaw Memorial.

Harrogate Memorial

This very small memorial is on the road to Weatherby. It stands about a mile from the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate. It stands about 7 ft tall and "looks" over parkland. The poppies seem rather poignent and seem to suit the the faintly dejected air of the monument..



"In Loving Memory of the nine men who died of wounds in the hospitals of H.I.H The Grand Duchess George of Russia in Harrogate during the Great War 1914-1918

Jonathan Owen, 

Percy Meadwell, 

Ramsden Farrar, 

William Bailey, 

John E Robinson, 

Oliver Sewell,

William H Thomas, 

William Fenton,

Arthur J. Crook 

and of those who after leaving the Hospitals fell on the field of battle."

"I am the resurrection and the life, he that beliveth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live"

Cannot fail to be intrigued by this memorial. Pasted below is an excerpt from the BBC website.

 

"In 1914 Grand Duchess George of Russia came to Harrogate with her two daughters Nina and Xenia. The Duchess was the Greek wife of Grand Duke George Mikhailovitch, cousin of the Czar Nicholas II. She had left left her husband behind in Russia, where he was assassinated by the Bolsheviks in 1919.

A month after the family's arrival in England war broke out. During the First World War the Duchess ran a number of hospitals in Harrogate for wounded soldiers. One of these was Heatherdene on Wetherby Road. The Matron from 1915 was Christina MacRae and in 1917 Queen Alexandra presented a red cross brooch, made by Fabergé, to her during a visit to Harrogate. The Harrogate Herald of March 14th 1917 records that Nurse MacRae and three other nurses at the Grand Duchess's hospitals had been given awards for their services.

In 1920 Grand Duchess George erected a war memorial to the soldiers who died in her hospitals. It can still be seen on the corner of Wetherby Road, next to the Stray. Heatherdene was later demolished.

The brooch was later given to the Royal Pump Room Museum by a fomer colleague of Nurse MacRae. "

The name Heatherdene is still connected with NHS services in Harrogate, but a little snippet from a website says:

"Heatherdene Cottage is the home of the Harrogate Hospital Sports and Social Club. It was originally the gardener's cottage of the Heatherdene Convalescent Home opened in 1892 as a memorial of the Victoria Hall fire disaster which occurred in Sunderland on 16th June 1883. A total of 183 children lost their lives when a fire broke out at a children's concert. The cottage has been extended and extensively modified to provide a comfortable bar area and a function room at the rear.

Heatherdene Cottage is situated on Lancaster Park Road in Harrogate. The premises are on the opposite side of the road to the large District Hospital, approximately 50 yards from Wetherby Road. The Cottage lies between the entrance to the Ambulance station and the Heatherdene Nurses Residence.

This memorial is on the United Kindom National Inventory of War Memorials as

GRAND DUCHESS GEORGE OF RUSSIAS HOSPITALS

UKNIWM Ref: 29724

What better place to start - Roslin

Little doubt that this is one of the most interesting places to visit in the UK. Da Vinci Code anyone, However let's not forget that this is a comparatively small town south of Edinburgh. The memorial is beautifully maintained and is impossible to miss if you are heading to the chapel. I have not unravelled all the names yet and when they are they will be added to the blog. But now the main photos! The top photograph, which is more readable is dedicated to WW1 and the bottom one relates to WW2. I do not know when the original monument was dedicated but it appears that the WW2 section appears to be added later. Obviously must be. However it doesn't fit comfortably with the rest of the design.

The inscription on the top of the top beneath the wreath reads:

TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE FROM ROSLIN AND DISTRICT WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR KING AND COUNTRY

1914- 1919

CAPT A.G.MILLAR             F.R.G.At

CAPT D.POLLOCK M.M.    CAM. H.

2nd Lt R.J. DEWAR D.G.M. R.F.A.

C.S.M. A.J.WATTS               R.S.

SGT. W. BARCLAY              GOR. H.

  "     P. BAXTER                 SEA. H

  "     C.T.G. MACLEAN       R.E.

Cpl.  H.B. BROWN              SEA. H.

  "     W. CAMERON            CAM. H.

  "     J.S. HERDMAN           S.R.

  "     W.S. JACK                  SEA H.

  "     J.Y. PENMAN              R.A.S.G.

  "     W.P. RICHARDSON     H.S.
BOMB. A. BARCLAY D.G.M.  M.M.  R.F.A.
L.CPL.  G. AFFLECK             CAM. H.
  "         J. BELL                    CAM H.
  "         G. KNOX                  R.S.F.
  "         J.D. MILLAR            SEA. H.
  "         B. SMITH                R.S.
  "         P.M. WILSON           CAM. H.
Pvr       A.C. BROWN          R.F.A.
  "         R.A.  LOGIE           R.E.
  "         J. WRIGHT              R.G.A
Gnr      D. ANDERSON        A.I.F.
  "        J. CRANE                G.E.F.
  "        J. McGAW               R.F.A.
Tpr.     P. ROBERTSON       D.G.
Pte      J.F. AFFLECK           R.S.
  "       J. ARCHIBALD          R.S.
  "       W. BAILLIE               R.A.S.C.
  "       J. BROWN                 R.S
  "      M. CURRAN               SEA. H.
  "      D.A. FINLAY               R.S.
  "      W. HANNAH              R.S.
  "      C.A. HENDERSON     SEA H.
  "      J. JOHNSTON            CAM. H.
  "      A. KNOX                    S.G.
  "      A. H. LAWRENCE      A.S.
  "      W.G.R. LAWRIE          SEA. H.
  "      S. LORIMER               R.S.
  "      F.H. MACFIE              SEA. H.
  "      A. McBEATH              N.F.
  "      A. McHENDRY           R.S.
  "      J. McHENDRY            K.O.S.B.
  "      A. McLEISH               R.S.
  "      W.J. McLENNAN        R.S.
  "      A. McNAIR                 S.C.
  "      P? G. MUNRO            H.L.I.
  "      W.N. PORTEOUS        N.Z.E.F.
  "      J.B. RAMSAY              SEA H.
  "      E. RICHARDSON       R.S.F.
  "      W. ROBERTSON        R.S.
  "      J. SHEPHERD            R.S.
  "     A.  WILSON                R.S.

Beneath the WW1 plaque is an angled piece of granite lying about 25 to 30 degrees from the horizontal. It has not weathered too well. The rain will certainly not run off well. I cannot remember if the lettering is in lead. (It does look like it) It is difficult to see from the photos. I did not pay attention on the first few memorials I photographed. However here is the inscription.

Remember them also who suffered death

1939 - 1945

A.B.       T.CLARK                  ROYAL NAVY

  "         G.G. GRANT                       "

O.S.       J. MILLER                          "

Sgt.      H.I. MACDONALD    R.A.M.C.

L/SGT   S.M. ELDER             R.T.C.

Cpl       W. BAIN                   A  &  S H.

Gnr       D.W. GRAY               B.Y.

  "         J. PENMAN              R.A.

Pte       G. ARCHIBALD        R.A.O.C.

  "         D  BARCLAY            2ND R.W.

  "         J. GILMOUR             L.C.H.G.

  "         J. H. HENRY             R.S.

  "         A.B. JEFFREY           2nd. R.S.

  "         J. MERCER              G. How.

  "         T. MILLER                R.S.

1.P/O      THE HON P.A.G. StCLAIR ERSKINE     ROYAL AIR FORCE

2.F/O      J. AFFLECK        ROYAL AIR FORCE

  "        I.R.G. HUNTER                 "

  "        A.S. THOMSON                "

W/O     T.F. HUNTER

Sgt/A.C.  J. BRYCE

Sgt      G.B. DONALDSON

Sgt/A.C.  F.FERGUSON

Sgt/W.O./A.C  J.GRANT

Sgt        E.S. YOUNG

Cpl        D. HUMPHRIES

Engnr.   E. HEPPLEWHITE       MERCHANT NAVY

1st Rad/O  T. RUSSELL                         "

 The link at 1. above goes to a forum. To dive into more information on Peter StClair Erskine - you will have to register. It is a good forum. This is the only link to the WW2 Talk forum on my whole blog.
1.   This is the announcement in the paper

Peter St. Clair Erskine

                

2.  Flying Officer J. Affleck; born Roslin, Midlothian, 2 Jan 1920; joined RAF Sep 1939; killed on air operations, 15 Sep 1943.

Definitely think I need a page to decode these acronyms!

Many are obvious - there are some that I am not aware of, especially the WW1 ones.
Updated on the 3rd of October 2011