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Oldham War Memorial is a war memorial in Oldham, England, comprising a large bronze sculpture group on a granite plinth. It was built to commemorate the men of Oldham who were killed in the First World War. Bronze plaques on the wall of the churchyard nearby list the fallen, including Mabel Drinkwater, a nurse who died after an operation at Oldham Royal Infirmary. A mechanised roll of honour was added in the 1950s, listing the men from Oldham who were killed in the Second World War. The memorial became a Grade II listed building in 1973. The listing was upgraded to Grade II* in December 2016.
After the end of the First World War, a campaign was started in 1919 to raise £20,000 to build a war memorial in Oldham, and to endow educational scholarships for the children who lost a father, with the intention that any excess funds would be paid to Oldham Royal Infirmary (the hospital closed in 1989, and merged with Royal Oldham Hospital, its site later becoming the home for Oldham Sixth Form College).
The memorial was commissioned in 1919 by the Oldham War Memorial Committee. It was designed and built by Thomas Taylor and the bronze sculpture was by Albert Toft. [1]
The siting of the memorial proved controversial: the first proposed site in the Market Place, close to some public lavatories, was rejected, and a second site by St Mary's Church was considered to be too close to a public house, the Greaves Arms. Other sites in Alexandra Park or close to the library were considered, before the decision was made to erect the memorial near St Mary's Church, opposite the Old Town Hall.
The war memorial comprises a bronze group sculpture of five life-size soldiers in full battle dress and carrying their weapons, mounted on top of a 3 metres (9.8 ft) high granite plinth. At a late stage, the sculpture group was rotated 180 degrees to face towards the town hall rather than the church.
The soldiers are depicted as if making their way along trenches: one of the figures stands on top of the memorial, as if having climbed out of the trenches, encouraging his comrades to advance. The same figure used at the Royal Fusiliers War Memorial in London, and the 41st Division memorial at Flers in France.
The plinth originally had a pair of bronze doors at either side, to the north and south, allowing access to a chamber inside housing the roll of honour of the 1st, 10th and 24th Battalions of the Manchester Regiment, and a space for private prayer. The south pair of doors was removed in the 1950s and replaced by glass window through which a mechanised roll of honour of the fallen from the Second World War can be viewed.
An inscriptions over the south doors reads: "DEATH IS THE GATE OF LIFE / 1914–1918"; and one over the window on the south side reads: "TO GOD BE THE PRAISE ".
The memorial was unveiled by General Sir Ian Hamilton on 28 April 1923, before a crowd estimated at over 10,000, and dedicated by the Bishop of Manchester, William Temple.
It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1973. It was cleaned and restored in 2012–13, and rededicated on 10 November 2013. In 2016, the memorial's listing was upgraded to II*. [1]
Albert Toft was a British sculptor.
Albert Square is a public square in the centre of Manchester, England. It is dominated by its largest building, the Grade I listed Manchester Town Hall, a Victorian Gothic building by Alfred Waterhouse. Other smaller buildings from the same period surround it, many of which are listed.
Piccadilly Gardens is a green space in Manchester city centre, England, on the edge of the Northern Quarter.
St Michael and All Angels Church stands to the west of the village of Great Altcar, West Lancashire, England. The church is timber-framed and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool and the deanery of Sefton. Its benefice is combined with that of Holy Trinity, Formby. In the Buildings of England series it is described as "an utterly charming church".
The Bromley War Memorial in Bromley, Greater London, England commemorates the fallen of World War I and World War II. It was designed by British sculptor Sydney March, of the March family of artists.
Bridgwater War Memorial is a Grade II* listed war memorial located on King Square in Bridgwater, Somerset, England, on the site previously occupied by Bridgwater Castle. It was designed by John Angel in the mid-1920s. The green figure of the memorial is allegorical, representing "Civilization as a seated female, holding a globe in one hand and with the book of knowledge on her lap."
The Royal Fusiliers War Memorial is a memorial in London, dedicated to the members of the Royal Fusiliers killed in the World Wars, Russian Civil War and subsequent conflicts, along with members of a number of London Regiment battalions killed in the First World War. It consists of a bronze statue on a 16.5 feet (5.0 m) pedestal made of Portland stone.
Rochdale Cenotaph is a First World War memorial on the Esplanade in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, in the north west of England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it is one of seven memorials in England based on his Cenotaph in London and one of his more ambitious designs. The memorial was unveiled in 1922 and consists of a raised platform bearing Lutyens' characteristic Stone of Remembrance next to a 10-metre (33 ft) pylon topped by an effigy of a recumbent soldier. A set of painted stone flags surrounds the pylon.
St Michael's Church is in the village of High Ercall, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Wrockwardine, the archdeaconry of Salop, and the diocese of Lichfield. Its benefice is united with those of twelve local churches. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
The Boer War Memorial, also known as the South African War Memorial, stands in a prominent position in Queens Park, Crewe, England. It was erected in memory of local soldiers who had served or fallen in the Boer War, and consists of a bronze statue of soldier in uniform standing on a column on a stone plinth. The monument was unveiled in 1903, and contains plaques with the names of those who were lost in the war. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
The London Troops War Memorial, located in front of the Royal Exchange in the City of London, commemorates the men of London who fought in World War I and World War II.
Lewes War Memorial is a war memorial at the top of School Hill in the centre of Lewes in East Sussex, prominently sited at the junction of High Street and Market Street. It commemorates 251 men from Lewes who died in the First World War, and 126 who died in the Second World War. It was unveiled in 1922 and became a listed building in 1985.
Watford Peace Memorial is a war memorial now located outside the Town Hall in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. It comprises three bronze sculptures of nude males on a white Portland stone base. The sculptor was Mary Pownall Bromet, a student of Auguste Rodin: it is her only war memorial, and a rare example of a war memorial by a woman. It is also an unusual example of a war memorial that incorporates nude sculptures.
Coventry War Memorial stands at the centre of War Memorial Park, to the south of the city of Coventry in England. The memorial is a tapering tower 87 feet (27 m) high, completed in 1927. It was restored in 2011, and designated as a Grade II* listed building in January 2013. At the same time, the park was itself listed at Grade II, and the gates and gate posts at the park's main entrance were separately Grade II listed.
St Michael Cornhill War Memorial is a First World War memorial by the entrance to the church of St Michael Cornhill, facing Cornhill in the City of London. The memorial became a Grade II* listed building in December 2016 ; the church itself is Grade I listed.
The Royal Artillery Boer War Memorial is located on the south side of The Mall in Central London, close to the junction with Horse Guards Road at the northeast corner of St James's Park. Unveiled in 1910, it marks the deaths of the 1,083 soldiers of the Royal Artillery who died in the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902 It has been a listed building since 1970.
Streatham War Memorial is a war memorial to the war dead of the London district of Streatham in the two World Wars. It was unveiled in 1922, and is sited near the northwest corner of Streatham Common.
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.
Kingston upon Thames War Memorial, in the Memorial Garden on Union Street, Kingston upon Thames, London, commemorates the men of the town 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 the town council and was designed by the British sculptor Richard Reginald Goulden. The memorial includes a bronze statue of a nude warrior, carrying a flaming cross and wielding a sword with which he defends two children from a serpent, erected on a granite plinth, with bronze plaques listing the names of the dead. Goulden designed a number of such allegorical memorials, including others at Crompton, Greater Manchester, and Redhill, Surrey. The Kingston memorial was designated a Grade II listed structure in 1983. This was revised upwards in 2016 to Grade II*, denoting a building or structure of particular importance.
The Bank of England War Memorial, in the internal Garden Court at the headquarters of the Bank of England in the City of London, commemorates the bank's staff who were killed while serving in the First World War and Second World War. It includes a bronze sculpture by Richard Reginald Goulden portraying Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child. It became a Grade II listed building in 2017. The surrounding buildings of the bank are separately listed at Grade I.