A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as utilitarian memorials. [1]
A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as utilitarian memorials. [1]
In the aftermath of the First World War, many towns and villages looked to commemorate casualties from their communities. Community leaders were expected to organise local committees to construct memorials [2] and halls, for the benefit of the local community, were often seen as appropriate ways in which to honour those who had lost their lives. Most incorporate a plaque or stone, individually naming casualties, although, in some cases, they were built instead of war memorials. [3] Most First World War memorial halls would later go on to be rededicated as memorials to those who also died in the Second World War In post-war times, many Second War Memorials would later be rededicated to those who lost their lives numerous modern wars.
Memorial halls often serve the functions of village halls.
The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian merchant sailors and fishermen who were killed as a result of enemy action and have no known grave. The first, the Mercantile Marine War Memorial, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1928; the second, the Merchant Seamen's Memorial, was designed by Sir Edward Maufe and unveiled in 1955. A third memorial, commemorating merchant sailors who were killed in the 1982 Falklands War, was added to the site in 2005.
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical, political, technical or architectural importance. Some of the first monuments were dolmens or menhirs, megalithic constructions built for religious or funerary purposes. Examples of monuments include statues, (war) memorials, historical buildings, archaeological sites, and cultural assets. If there is a public interest in its preservation, a monument can for example be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sai Wan War Cemetery is a military cemetery located in Chai Wan, Hong Kong which was built in 1946. The cemetery was created to commemorate soldiers of Hong Kong Garrison who perished during the Second World War. The cemetery also contains 12 World War I burials. A total of 1,528 soldiers, mainly from the Commonwealth, are commemorated here. Most of the remaining burials are located at the Stanley Military Cemetery.
The Great Western Railway War Memorial is a First World War memorial at London Paddington station by Charles Sargeant Jagger and Thomas S. Tait. It commemorates 2,500 employees of the Great Western Railway (GWR) who were killed in the conflict. One third of the GWR's workforce of almost 80,000 left to fight in the First World War, the company guaranteeing their jobs, and the company gave over its workshops for munitions manufacturing as well devoting its network to transporting soldiers and military equipment. The GWR considered several schemes for a war memorial before approaching Jagger to design a statue and some company officials continued to push for an alternate design, to the point that Jagger threatened to resign. Jagger was working on several other war memorial commissions at the same time as the GWR's, including his most famous, the Royal Artillery Memorial.
The Sydney Cenotaph is a heritage-listed monument located in Martin Place, in the Sydney, Australia. It was designed by Bertram Mackennal and built from 1927 to 1929 by Dorman Long & Co. It is also known as Martin Place Memorial and The Cenotaph. It is one of the oldest World War I monuments in central Sydney. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 11 November 2009.
Scottish war memorials are found in all communities in Scotland. They are found on most main streets and most churches in Scotland. Many commemorate the sacrifice of the First World War but there are many others to wars before and since 1914–1918.
World War I is remembered and commemorated by various war memorials, including civic memorials, larger national monuments, war cemeteries, private memorials and a range of utilitarian designs such as halls and parks, dedicated to remembering those involved in the conflict. Huge numbers of memorials were built in the 1920s and 1930s, with around 176,000 erected in France alone. This was a new social phenomenon and marked a major cultural shift in how nations commemorated conflicts. Interest in World War I and its memorials faded after World War II, and did not increase again until the 1980s and 1990s, which saw the renovation of many existing memorials and the opening of new sites. Visitor numbers at many memorials increased significantly, while major national and civic memorials continue to be used for annual ceremonies remembering the war.
Monuments aux Morts are French war memorials established to commemorate the losses of World War I. After the end of the 1914–1918 war there was a frenzy to build memorials to commemorate those who had been killed and it has been calculated that in this period well over 36,000 individual memorials were erected throughout France with the majority of these being built between 1919 and 1926. These memorials are known as monuments aux morts - literally monuments to the dead and what are known in the United Kingdom as war memorials.
Memorials and monuments to victims of the sinking of the RMS Titanic exist in a number of places around the world associated with Titanic, notably in Belfast, Liverpool and Southampton in the United Kingdom; Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada; and New York City and Washington, D.C. in the United States. The largest single contingent of victims came from Southampton, the home of most of the crew, which consequently has the greatest number of memorials. Titanic was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and had a "guarantee party" of engineers from shipbuilders Harland and Wolff aboard all of whom were lost in the disaster and are commemorated by a prominent memorial in the city. Other contingents of engineers aboard the ship came from the maritime cities of Liverpool in England and Glasgow in Scotland, which erected their own memorials. Several prominent victims, such as Titanic's captain, were commemorated individually. Elsewhere, in the United States and Australia, public memorials were erected to commemorate all the victims.
The Middlesbrough Cenotaph is a war memorial situated in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It is located just off Linthorpe Road outside the entrance gates to Albert Park in front of the Dorman Museum. It commemorates the local men who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars and other conflicts.
Montville Memorial Precinct is a heritage-listed memorial precinct at Razorback Road and Main Street, Montville, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 August 2008.
There are 20 Grade I listed war memorials in England, out of over 3,000 listed war memorials. In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a building or structure of special historical or architectural importance; listing offers the building legal protection against demolition or modification, which requires permission from the local planning authority. Listed buildings are divided into three categories—grade I, grade II*, and grade II—which reflect the relative significance of the structure and may be a factor in planning decisions. Grade II accounts for 92% of listed buildings, while grade II* is an intermediate grade accounting for 5.5%; grade I holds the remaining 2.5% of listed buildings and is reserved for structures of exceptional significance. Grade I listed war memorials are deliberately very few, though several have been upgraded to grade I status as part of commemorations around the First World War centenary. A war memorial listed at grade I will be of exceptional interest for its design and artistic merit and will be of great historical interest. Such memorials are often the work of famous architects or sculptors, amongst the most prolific of whom was Sir Edwin Lutyens, whose memorials account for a third of all those listed at grade I. Lutyens designed dozens of war memorials across the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, including the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London—the focus for the national Remembrance Sunday services—and the Arch of Remembrance in Leicester—the largest of Lutyens' war memorials in Britain; both are listed at grade I. As part of the commemorations of the centenary of the First World War, Historic England—the government body responsible for listing in England—is running a project with the aim of significantly increasing the number of war memorials on the National Heritage List for England.
War memorials were erected in many towns of Queensland, Australia, in commemoration of the service and death of many Queenslanders in World War I.
The principal war memorial in Enfield Town is the cenotaph that stands in Chase Green Gardens and is a grade II listed monument with Historic England. It commemorates men lost in both the World Wars as does a plaque in the town's main post office. In addition, in 2003 a memorial to those lost in the Arctic campaign of the Second World War was unveiled.
Runcorn War Memorial was built to commemorate the servicemen of Runcorn lost in active service in the First World War. It was unveiled on Remembrance Sunday 1920 at 3:30pm, beginning a tradition of afternoon services. In 1948, the memorial was rededicated and the names of those lost in the Second World War were added. An inscribed stone was added later with the names of those lost in subsequent conflicts.
The Mount Macedon Memorial Cross is a heritage-listed war memorial at 405 Cameron Drive, Mount Macedon, Macedon Ranges Shire, Victoria, Australia. It is also known as the Cameron Memorial Cross. It was listed on the Victorian Heritage Register on 1 September 1994.
The Urana Soldiers' Memorial Hall is a heritage-listed community hall located at Anna Street, Urana, Federation Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by George Sheppard and by Sidney James Hunnings. The Hall was built between 1884 and 1924. It is also known as the Soldiers Hall, Mechanics Institute Hall and School of Arts Hall. The property is owned by Federation Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 8 April 2016.
Twickenham War Memorial, in Radnor Gardens, Twickenham, London, commemorates the men of the district of Twickenham who died in the First World War. After 1945, the memorial was updated to recognise casualties from the Second World War. The memorial was commissioned by Twickenham Urban District Council in 1921. It was designed by the sculptor Mortimer Brown, and is Brown's only significant public work. The memorial is unusual for its representation of a jubilant soldier returning home. It became a Grade II* listed structure in 2017.