Bolton Co-operative Society Memorial

This memorial is situated on the same corridor as the Temperance Memorial.
It has recently been restored and placed back on display. I used lots of flash, but it is very dark stained wood.

Bolton Co-operative Society Memorial

THIS TABLET
WAS ERECTED
TO THE MEMORY
OF THE EMPLOYEES
OF THIS SOCIETY
WHO FELL IN THE
GREAT EUROPEAN WAR
1914 -1919 ALSO THE
SECOND WORLD WAR
1939 - 1945

These are the names of those who fell in the First World War:

J. B. Atkinson
F. G. Atkinson
R. Briggs
T. Brown
J. Cropper
C. Davenport
W. Dilworth
W. Dixon
E. Fielding
A. Gregory
J. Hobson
H. Hodson
H. Horrocks
C. K. Howarth
A. Isherwood
W. Isherwood
H. Lavers
H. Lee
J. Riley
A. Moore
E. Morley
J. W. Nicholls
J. Pickup
S. Platt
H. Prescott
W. Roper
R. Schofield
D. Smith
J. Smith
J. Stott
R. Thomasson
R. Walmsley
J. N. Watson
M. S. Whittaker
D. Williams
F. Winstanley
C. Webster (ECS)

These are the names of those who fell in the Second World War:

G. Ritson
J. Terrell
D. Heap
H. R. Entwistle
J. Green
C. Catterall
J. H. Leach
A. Higson
W. Fairbrother

More interesting perhaps is the information sheet next to the memorial:

Bolton Co-operative Society First World War and Second World War Memorial.

"This memorial was displayed at the secretarial office of the Bolton Co-op Society on Bridge Street in Bolton town centre. It was unveiled in 1921. When the office was closed, the memorial was donated to Bolton Museum

The memorial names 37 Co-op members who were killed in the First World War. The memorial was later updated to honour 9 Co-op members who were killed during the Second World War. This was done by turning around the central board and carving a new inscription. The original inscription is still on the reverse of the memorial. It states that 386 Bolton Co-op members returned from active service in the First World War.

The Co-op is a business owned and run by its members. The members each get a share of the profit or dividend.