Royal Academy of Music

Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music Memorials

I had the opportunity to visit the Royal Academy of Music at the end of 2010. It was a thoroughly enjoyable visit. The impression that the Academy gave out was one of the utmost excellence and the quality of musicianship was of the highest order. To obtain a place at the Academy and Graduate places you amongst the finest. However I did not expect to find the memorials in the entrance hall. I expect many students have seen and acknowledged their presence, few will know the names. I feel that members of the general public will not know of their existence. They are however reproduced below. They are copy-write free, but I would love an acknowledgement if you download them. If you use the on a website a link would be superb. I have a higher resolution image should you need it. They will probably not email, being too big. There were two faintly bemused security/janitors as I photographed the memorials.

This is the inscription on the tall green Memorial.

" TO THE MEMORY OF

THE MEMBERS OF THE

R.A.M. WHO FELL IN THE

GREAT WAR 1914-1919

WILLIAM H. BAMBRIDGE

Captain P.S. Batt. R. Fusiliers

RALPH BOTTING

Lieut Inns of Court O.T.C.

EDWARD HENRY COLE

Corp. Royal Bucks Hussars

LIONEL DOWN

Sapper R.E. Signals

GODFREY GARDNER

Lieutenant Suffolk Regiment

LEONARD HART

L/Cpl. 6 Royal West Kent Regiment

HUBERT KIVER

Lieut. East Surrey Regiment

ALBERT MAIDEN

Private Artists Rifles

WILLIAM B. MANSON

Private London Scottish

RICHARD SAMPSON

Lieut. Public Schools Batt.

HENRY SANDERS

Lieut. Queen Victoria's Rifles

HARPER SEED

Lieut, 17 Sherwood Foresters

FRANCIS J. THORNS

Lieut. Royal Bucks Regiment

ARTHUR B. WILKINSON

Lieut. 2/5 Royal Sussex Regt."

Along the bottom are the names

"F.S.APPLEBY

Private 5 Essex Regiment

WILLIAM J. PERRY

Cpl. 21 Batt. Middlesex Regt.

J. L.SUTTON

Driver Royal Field Artillery"

Plaque commemorating those who fell in WW2

The small grey plaque commemorates those that fell in World War Two 1939 - 1945. The names are " Basil Godfrey BENSTED, Alice Purves FORTUNE, Michael Savage HEMING, Bohdan HUBICKI, Royston Clifford OULSON, Simmon LATUTIN, Muriel Evaline Dorothy SHIELDS-SCHIBILD, David Carl TAYLOR, Douglas THOMSON,, William George BLAND, Raymond Thomas HUNN."

Fiftieth Anniversary

Simmon Latutin has a separate plaque too.  There is a biography of Simmon here. The other plaque mentions the refurbishment that was done in 1995.

Some more Memorials from the "Rossendale Way

Harry Sagar

 Harry Sagar - "In loving memory of HARRY SAGAR" 13-12-1914 -28-10-1992"
From information gleaned on the Internet in particular Gary Whiteheads site, he married a Ms Jean Stuart, a daughter and also two granddaughters. His family have very thoughtfully placed a plaque on approximately the highest place of the "Rossy Way" Fabulous view Harry - I've seen it in all weathers too! I guess the swoosh of the windfarm isn't too bad!

Ward Ogden

Ward Ogden has a stone dedicated to him on the Rossendale way too. His is placed very close to Harry Sagar's stone. It reads "REBUILT 1966 IN MEMORY OF WARD OGDEN NATURALIST AND RAMBLER" The stone is set within the reconstructed "Waugh's Well" More about Edwin Waugh next.

Waugh's Well

 Edwin Waugh was born in Rochdale in 1817 and died in New Brighton in 1890. son of a shoemaker,  and, after a little schooling, apprenticed to a printer, Thomas Holden, at the age of 12. While still a young man he worked as a journeyman printer, travelling all over England, but eventually returned to his old job in Rochdale. Waugh read eagerly, and in 1847 became assistant secretary to the Lancashire Public School Association and went to work in Manchester. He first attracted attention by his sketches of Lancashire life and character in the Manchester Examiner His first book Sketches of Lancashire Life and Localities was published in 1855 while he was working as a traveller for a Manchester printing firm. He wrote also in prose "Factory Folk",  "Besom Ben Stories", and "The Chimney Corner". By 1860 he was able to become a full-time writer but by 1881 he was in poor health and was granted a Civil List pension of £90 p.a. His best work was, perhaps, his Lancashire Dialect songs, collected as Poems and Songs (1859), which brought him great local fame. He was possessed of considerable literary gift, and has been called "the Lancashire Burns." His most famous poem is "Come whoam to thi childer an' me", 1856. Waugh's Well was built in 1866 to commemorate him at the now derelict Fo' Farm, where he spent much time writing, on the moors above Waterfoot, Rossendale. Waugh died at his home in New Brighton, near Liverpool, in 1890 and was buried in St. Paul's churchyard on Kersal Moor. There is another link to Edwin Waugh and Grants Tower here.

Harry Craven

Heald Wesleyan Chapel Memorial Stone

Heald Wesleyan Chapel Memorial Stone

Heald is a straggling moorland village situated  on high ground on the road to Burnley two miles North of Bacup. The inhabitants of this place, during the 17th century lived hard and rough. The main industry was spinning and weaving the cloth had to be carried to Rochdale or Burnley on the mans' back which in itself was a days work. The money earned had to be supplemented by what could be grown or farmed. It was no place for a weakling which is probably why the nonconformists took hold here. The people had been brought up to stand on their own feet. The nearest church was at Newchurch and to get there meant a good long walk over the hills. The road to Newchurch from Deerplay was and is still known as  "Kirkgate" The Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1832 and the plaque says it closed in 1868.


The inscription on the Plaque says " This stone is erected by the Heald Wesleyan Church marks the site of the Old Wesleyan Chapel and School 1832 -1868. However the information on the stone does not seem to tally completely with the information on the website. The actual stone is on quite a reasonable footpath, and although I was in a hurry there were no obvious signs of a chapel having been at that spot.


This website details some of the history and also shows this same memorial stone looking west.  This site shows where the memorial is now sited. I hope this is the correct spot. This is about 10 minutes from the Sharneyford checkpoint on the "Rossendale Way in a Day Challenge" event, organised by Rossendale Mountain Rescue.

Compston's Cross

Compston's Cross

Compston's Cross is on the Rossendale Way. This is a 46 mile  circular route around the Rossendale valley in Lancashire in the United Kingdom. The cross is situated at this location. The cross is located on Gambleside Moor where there were 2 ancient crosses. There is a marker stone to mark the position of the Western Cross (also known as Higher Cross or the Cross) which is 250 yards away. The Western cross was thought to be at the cross roads of two ancient tracks, one from Whalley Abbey to the Abbey's Estates at Brandtwood, nr. Bacup. This would also be on a straight line almost to Pilgrims Cross on Bull Hill, near Holcombe and perhaps the Affetside Cross too. The Packhorse Inn in Affetside appears to have a trail leading from the pub carpark down to the Irwell valley.
The other major trade route would be the wool trade route from Preston to Heptonstall. The original cross was a plain shaft with a cross carved on, into a plain square base.

Heading Away

Crack of Dawn

The cross shown in the photograph is the refurbished one by Alderman Samuel Compston in 1902/03. It is believed that there are 5 or 6 old tracks meeting at this place. However it seems that the cross may have been a memorial or burial monument unlike the Western Marker stone. Samuel Compston published a series of 13 musical articles in the Rossendale free press. A link to the website is here. More research into why the cross was built and what it's significance may be is needed.

Packway running South

Just about to turn South

I completed "the Rossendale Way in a day" in 2011 in about 14hrs 30 minutes. The first major turn in the route from Loveclough was at Compston's Cross. I was looking for the location of the Western Cross - I never found a trace, but I did take more photo's of the cross. These were taken at 6 in the morning heading straight from Loveclough into the sun(East). It is clear that it is the right location for a meeting of trackways. There was clear evidence of well worn tracks and depressions in the land.

St Cuthbert's Cross, Lytham

St Cuthbert's Cross, Lytham St Annes

The plaque on the cross reads "According to ancient tradition the body of St Cuthbert about the year 882 once rested here." This is the location.

"In 793 the very first of 200 years of Viking raids destroyed the Lindisfarne monastery entirely except for the tomb of St. Cuthbert. In 875, under threat of these Viking raids, St. Cuthbert's body was removed from Lindisfarne to begin its travels around Northumbria. Halts were made at Mailros, at Durham, and in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Contrary to legend it did not journey to Ireland. In a respite from its travels his body rested for 110 years at Chester-le-Street. In 995 Danes again ravaged Northumbria and forced the monks tending his coffin to move it to Ripon. Only two months later they left Ripon and journeyed north."
This text is from the  'The Life and Death of St.Cuthbert ' by C.J. Stranks, published by S.P.C.K. in 1964. The main primary source of his commentary is Bede's ' Life of St Cuthbert'. The church "next door" is also called St Cuthberts. The legend of St Cuthbert visiting the Fylde is firmly entrenched. This is an extract from the Lytham Hall website

"12th to 16th century

The earliest building known to have been on the site of Lytham Hall was a Benedictine Priory dating from the 12th century. It was a small cell of monks attached to the main Benedictine order at Durham. A Richard FitzRoger granted land for the monks to build a priory and also establish a self sufficient community at Lytham. Richard, it is said, was saved from death after being taken to the local church dedicated to St Cuthbert and later travelled to Durham to give prayers of thanks at the cathedral where St Cuthbert’s bones were interred. 

The order remained at Lytham until the Dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in the 16th century. Lytham Hall is indeed interesting and has almost been "saved". Whether you believe the local Authority have used sharp practice is down to you!

Immediately behind the cross is Lytham Tennis and Cricket Club. Further up the road towards St Annes is St Cuthbert's Church. At the church is a sandstone sundial dating from the 18th century. Almost facing the church is Lowther Gardens. It is indeed a nice spot to rest. However there does not seem to be a mountain of evidence to support the fact that St Cuthbert's body ever rested there.On this same road are 2 milestones, both interesting. No more seem to have survived.

http://www.melrose.bordernet.co.uk/mha/5/cuthbert.html
http://www.lytham-stannes.com/lytham/lytham_hall.htm

Wellington Bomber memorial, Jessops Farm - Rivington

Wellington Bomber Memorial

The Rotary Club of Horwich erected a memorial to the crew of a Wellington Bomber who died on November 12th. 1943 when their plane crashed onto the moors in poor weather.

Looking towards Winter Hill

The path up from the valley.

Flight Sergeant J.B.Timperon, Sergeant E. R. Barnes, Sergeant J. B. Hayton, Sergeant R. S. Jackson, Sergeant G. E. Murray and Sergeant M. Mouncey were on a training exercise. I encountered this memorial on the "White Bear way" a LDWA walk from Adlington scout hut. The route comes off Winter Hill, down towards Hordern Stoops and  across the wide open space on the Winter Hill shot. It then come up a shart sharp climb There are of course considerably easier ways of getting to it! I have a link from my Panoramio site here. The picture next to it is the access path from the river below which is a stiff climb.

However a mystery exists here. A search reveals that the actual date of ZULU 8799 was 16th November 1943, yet the plaque clearly says 12th of November 1943. It would be hard to believe that either source would be incorrect. The pilot Joseph B Timperon came from Alice Springs in Australia and was attached to the RAF. The plane had taken off from Wymeswolde in Leicester on a "bulls eye" training mission. It was thought that the crash was caused by low cloud causing icing which caused structural damage and the inevitable crash. More information is at the the Lancashire Aircraft Investigation Team website.I have added another photo from behind the monument. The shot looks towards Winter Hill. There have been many plane crashes and a couple of suspicious deaths on these moors.

PEEL TOWER

I could see this monument, known as Peel Tower from my house. I suppose I saw it every day for nigh on 20 years. As lads we had managed to scramble in the bottom bit and even get to the parapet.The stairs, those that were left were frightening. It wasn't to this year that I finally got inside and had a look up and down. It is cold, damp and if it wasn't lit it would be scary. There is nearly 200 steps to the top. However the signal on the mobile is superb! The actual monument cost £900 pounds to build. The tower was opened by Rossendale Mountain rescue that day. They charged a £1 to go in and climb to the top!
When the flag is flying the tower is open. There are more pictures in the datastore here.

Looking down the inside of Peel Tower

Peel Tower from the West

Peel's Speech on the "ground floor"

More distant view of the Tower

PEEL MONUMENT, HOLCOMBE
ERECTED 1852
IN MEMORY OF SIR ROBERT PEEL

"It may be that I shall leave a name sometimes remembered with expressions of good will in the abodes of those , whose lot it is to labour, and to earn their daily bread with the sweat of their brow-when they shall recruit their exhausted strength with abundant and untaxed food the sweeter, because it is no longer leavened with a sense of injustice"

EXTRACT FROM SPEECH OF SIR ROBERT PEEL, DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
JANUARY 27th 1846