Northern Ireland War Memorial

Last updated

Northern Ireland War Memorial
Northern Ireland War Memorial, Belfast.jpg
GreaterBelfastTemplate.gif
Red pog.svg
Location within Greater Belfast
Established2007;16 years ago (2007)
Location21 Talbot Street, Belfast, BT1 2LD
United Kingdom
Coordinates 54°36′11″N5°55′41″W / 54.603°N 5.928°W / 54.603; -5.928
Website www.niwarmemorial.org

The Northern Ireland War Memorial also called NI War Memorial [1] [2] and War Memorial [1] was opened in 2007 in Talbot Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It replaced an earlier building called Memorial House which was located in Waring Street on a site which was bombed during the Blitz in 1941. It contains the Home Front Exhibition and the first national memorial to the hundreds killed in the Belfast blitz, created by Carolyn Mulholland. [1] [2]

Contents

Vision

An engaging and welcoming museum that provides a window on Northern Ireland's key role in the Second World War and the impact of the war on its people.

Mission

The Northern Ireland War Memorial was established to provide an enduring memorial for the men and women of Northern Ireland who died in the two World Wars, and to commemorate the American presence in Northern Ireland during the Second World War.

History

The Northern Ireland War Memorial began shortly after the conclusion of the Second World war, when the Northern Ireland branch of the British Legion wished to establish a War Memorial to those from Northern Ireland who had fallen in the First and Second World War. The Northern Irish Government, under Sir Basil Brooke, also wished to mark this sacrifice as well as the enduring bonds of friendship made with the estimated 300,000 members of the US forces who passed through Northern Ireland.

In 1948, efforts were combined and the Northern Ireland War Memorial Building Fund was established and the Council of the Northern Ireland War Memorial officially incorporated in 1950 with its first chairman appointed Sir Norman Stronge. The Northern Irish Government agreeing to match £ for £ all money raised up to £100,000 while the Belfast Corporation, a forerunner to Belfast City Council, were to provide a suitable site for the building.

Fundraising events were held across Northern Ireland, centrally controlled from NIWM's tramcar offices in 'Blitz Square' on High Street in Belfast. These offices were three converted tramcars joined end-to-end to create an office space, opened on the 16th November 1948 by Sir Basil Brooke. Fundraising events included Ladies International Football games, an odd shillings & pence appeal as well as the creation of a two-tonne fruit cake which was raffled off in eight lb slices to lucky ticket holders.

After nearly ten years, work began on the Northern Ireland War Memorial Building (also known as Memorial House) when a site was secured in Waring Street Belfast. 5-21 Waring Street had housed a number of commercial enterprises before being destroyed on 4/5 May 1941 during the Belfast Blitz Fire Raid. Memorial House was finally completed and opened in October 1963 by HRH Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. At this event she stated;

"‘Your Memorial is not merely a building of brick and stone. It will be a fitting home for the British Legion and many other ex-service organisations and welfare bodies whose work is as valuable today as in the dark days of war. "

Throughout the period known as the Northern Irish 'Troubles' Memorial House remained open to the public for ex-service events and charities, hosting various organisations and activities including Belfast Small Claims Court as well as services for the Church of God NI. In the late eighties it was decided to establish a Home Front Heritage Centre, designed to educate the public on Northern Ireland's unique role during the Second World War. This Heritage Centre opened in 1989 and continued to operate until 2007 when Memorial House was sold and all operations moved to its current Talbot Street location.

Now an Accredited Museum, their mission is to tell the story of Northern Ireland's role in the Second World War comprehensively and authentically through engaging exhibitions, publications, research, outreach and accessible learning programmes. In addition, they maintain war memorials to the fallen in the First and Second World War and the Belfast Blitz. It organises respectful commemorations, provides office and meeting accommodation to ex-service charities, and awards small grants to projects which are in line with their charitable objectives.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belfast</span> Capital of Northern Ireland

Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 10th-largest primary urban area in the United Kingdom and the second-largest city in Ireland. Belfast City had a population of 293,298 in 2021. The population of its metropolitan area was 671,559 in 2011, and the Belfast Local Government District had a population 345,418 in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's University Belfast</span> Public university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast, is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as "Queen's College, Belfast", and opened four years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough</span> Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from 1943 to 1963

Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough,, styled Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Baronet, between 1907 and 1952, and commonly referred to as LordBrookeborough, was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who served as the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from May 1943, until March 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senate of Northern Ireland</span> Upper house of the former parliament of Northern Ireland

The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Lodge, Belfast</span> Area of Belfast

The New Lodge is an urban, working class Catholic community in Belfast, Northern Ireland, immediately to the north of the city centre. The landscape is dominated by several large tower blocks. The area has a number of murals, mostly sited along the New Lodge Road. The locality is demarcated by Duncairn Gardens, Antrim Road, Clifton Street, and dependent on opinion, York Street or North Queen Street. North Queen Street and Duncairn Gardens have often seen rioting between republicans and loyalists. The New Lodge is also an electoral ward of Belfast City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saintfield</span> Human settlement in Northern Ireland

Saintfield is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is about halfway between Belfast and Downpatrick on the A7 road. It had a population of 3,381 in the 2011 Census, made up mostly of commuters working in both south and central Belfast, which is about 18 km away. The population of the surrounding countryside is mostly involved in farming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methodist College Belfast</span> Voluntary grammar school in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is also a member of the Independent Schools Council and the Governing Bodies Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brookeborough</span> Human settlement in Northern Ireland

Brookeborough is a village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, at the westerly foot of Slieve Beagh. It lies about eleven miles east of Enniskillen, just off the A4 trunk road, and about five miles west of the County Tyrone boundary. It is situated in the civil parish of Aghavea and the historic barony of Magherastephana. It is situated within Fermanagh and Omagh district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belfast Blitz</span> German air raids on Belfast in World War II

The Belfast Blitz consisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. The first was on the night of 7–8 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. The next took place on Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941, when 200 Luftwaffe bombers attacked military and manufacturing targets in the city of Belfast. Some 900 people died as a result of the bombing and 1,500 were injured. High explosive bombs predominated in this raid. Apart from those on London, this was the greatest loss of life in any night raid during the Blitz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belfast City Hall</span> Municipal building in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Belfast City Hall is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre. It is a Grade A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Belfast Academical Institution</span> Voluntary grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is Queen's University, the institution pioneered Belfast's first programme of collegiate education. Locally referred to as Inst, the modern school educates boys from ages 11 to 18. It is one of the eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school occupies an 18-acre site in the centre of the city on which its first buildings were erected.

Henry Cassidy Midgley, PC (NI), known as Harry Midgley was a prominent trade-unionist and politician in Northern Ireland. Born to a working-class Protestant family in Tiger's Bay, north Belfast, he followed his father into the shipyard. After serving on the Western Front in the Great War, he became an official in a textile workers union and a leading light in the Belfast Labour Party (BLP). He represented the party's efforts in the early 1920s to provide a left opposition to the Unionist government of the new Northern Ireland while remaining non-committal on the divisive question of Irish partition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stranmillis</span>

Stranmillis is an area in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is also an electoral ward for Belfast City Council, part of the Laganbank district electoral area. As part of the Queen's Quarter, it is the location for prominent attractions such as the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens. The area is located on Stranmillis Road, with Malone Road to the west and the River Lagan to the east. Its name, meaning "the sweet stream" in Irish, refers to the Lagan, whose waters are still fresh at this point, before becoming brackish as the river flows onward toward its mouth in Belfast Lough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral Quarter, Belfast</span>

The Cathedral Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a developing area of the city, roughly situated between Royal Avenue near where the Belfast Central Library building is, and the Dunbar Link in the city centre. From one of its corners, the junction of Royal Avenue, Donegall Street and York Street, the Cathedral Quarter lies south and east. Part of the area, centred on Talbot Street behind the cathedral, was formerly called the Half Bap. The "Little Italy" area was on the opposite side of Great Patrick Street centred on Little Patrick Street and Nelson Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stormont Estate</span> Estate in County Down, Northern Ireland

The Stormont Estate is an estate east of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the site of Northern Ireland's main Parliament Buildings, which is surrounded by woods and parkland, and is often referred in contemporary media as the metonym "Stormont".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maynard Sinclair</span>

John Maynard Sinclair was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland. Born in Belfast, in 1896, son of John Sinclair DL and Alice Montgomery, he was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, and in Switzerland. He served in the British Army during World War I. He was a director of the Eagle Star Insurance Company and Chairman of Vulcanite Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom</span>

Synagogues may be considered "oldest" based on different criteria. A number of synagogues that predate the expulsion of the Jews from England have been discovered by archaeologists or by historians in buildings that have been in use for other purposes for many centuries. A second set of synagogues post-dates the legal return of Jews to England in the seventeenth century. Some synagogues have been destroyed or demolished and rebuilt on the same site, so that, while the site or congregation may be very old, the building may be modern. Still other old synagogue buildings exist, but were sold by the congregation and are now used for other purposes, some as churches or mosques, others for everything from residences to school recital halls. And some very old synagogues have been in continuous use as synagogues for many centuries.

Carolyn MulhollandHRHA, HRUA is an Irish sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portrush Town Hall</span> Municipal Building in Portrush, Northern Ireland

Portrush Town Hall is a municipal structure in Mark Street, Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The structure, which is used as an events venue, is a Grade B+ listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War Memorial Building, Belfast</span> Listed building in Northern Ireland

The War Memorial Building is a grade B2 listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The building, modernist in design, was constructed in 1959–1962 on the site of a hotel destroyed during the 1941 Belfast Blitz. The building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and housed organisations and charities related to the British armed forces. The site currently lies empty and has been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register. The current owners have applied for permission to convert the building into a 120-bedroom hotel.

References