Memorial - maintenance
There are several War Memorials within the Borough of Rochdale
which are maintained by the Council.
Rochdale War Memorial
Rochdale War Memorial is situated on Esplanade in Rochdale
opposite the Town Hall and is on the site of the old Manor House
which was demolished in 1922. Rochdale Council purchased the
site from private ownership in 1921.
The Memorial is constructed of light grey
Cornish granite and is surrounded by paving and gardens. To
the front of the Memorial is the War Stone which in appearance
resembles an Altar Stone. This is entirely without carving or
ornamentation of any kind except for the inscription “Their Name
Liveth for Evermore”.
Rochdale War Memorial is situated on Esplanade in Rochdale
opposite the Town Hall and is on the site of the old Manor House
which was demolished in 1922. Rochdale Council purchased the site
from private ownership in 1921.
The Memorial is constructed of light grey Cornish granite and is
surrounded by paving and gardens. To the front of the Memorial is
the War Stone which in appearance resembles an Alter Stone. This is
entirely without carving or ornamentation of any kind except for
the inscription “Their Name Liveth for Evermore”.
Buersil and Balderstone War Memorial
Buersil and Balderstone War Memorial was built in 1928 on the
site of the Old Toll House at the junction of Oldham Road and
Platting Lane.
The Memorial consists of a tall calvary
cross rising from a rounded cuboid pedestal and is constructed of
silver grey Swedish granite and was unveiled by Councillor Hardman
in 1928.
Norden War Memorial
Norden War Memorial is situated on Edenfield
Road and is surrounded by small triangular garden area. The
Memorial takes the form of a cross some six metres in height,
octagonal in section and is constructed of Yorkshire Stone.
It was unveiled in June 1920 by Lieutenant W H Sugden,
MP.
The cross stands on an octagonal plinth made
from York stone paving, upon which are inscribed the names of the
dead together with the names of those areas of war in which they
fell. The Memorial is now a listed structure.
Heywood War Memorial
Heywood War Memorial stands in a spacious Memorial Gardens off
Church Street, Heywood, opposite the Parish Church of St
Luke. The Monument was sculptured by Walter Marsden and was
unveiled in August 1925 by the Very Reverend The Dean of
Manchester, Hewlett Johnson. The memorial is protected as a
Grade II listed structure.
It is constructed of grey granite and comprises a plain shaft,
inscribed “To the Men of Heywood who gave their lives for us during
the Great War, 1914 -1918”, tapering shafts adjoined on either
side, low abutments to either side have carved wreaths. To
the front of the main shaft stands a bronze female figure holding a
palm of victory.
Littleborough War Memorial
Littleborough War Memorial is situated on
Railway Street in the centre of the town and stands to the rear of
a semi-circular open garden area.
The War Memorial obelisk is made of York
stone. Behind and separate from the obelisk is a
semi-circular wall low wall again of York stone with 27 granolite
name panels for both the 1014/1919 wand 1939/1945 wars. It
should be noted that 269 Service men are recorded as having died
during the First World War and 67 during the Second World War.
The War Memorial was unveiled by Major
Sydney J Gowland in June 1922, and dedicated by the Rev A F
Gaskell, Victor of Littleborough Parish Church.
Middleton War Memorial
Middleton War Memorial is located in the
Memorial Gardens alongside the Cenotaph off Manchester Old Road in
the Limefields area of Middleton.
In October 1927 the Garden of Remembrance
was formally handed over to the Borough of Middleton and the
Memorial was unveiled to the memory of 674 soldiers of Middleton
who gave their lives in the First World War. The names of the
fallen of the Second World War were added Later.
A tall column, topped with a cross is the
centre piece commanding the entrance from the road, through a pair
of ornate iron gates. In the centre of gardens is a low
semi-circular sandstone wall containing marble tablets which bear
the names of the dead.
Remedial work to the Memorial and its
gardens was carried out in 2000. At this time a dolphin
fountain, which had been missing from the Memorial garden for over
30 years, was replaced by a new dolphin fountain.
Milnrow War Memorial
Milnrow War Memorial is situated in the
Memorial Park at Newhey, and is now a listed structure.
The Milnrow War Memorial was originally
sited at the Kiln Lane and Dale Street junction, set back from the
road near Milnrow Bridge and was unveiled in 1924 by Major General
A Solly-Flood. The Memorial is constructed of Sandstone
surmounted by a bronze statue of a First World War Infantry soldier
with rifle and fixed bayonet symbolic of the young manhood of the
district in the early days of the First World War. It was
sculptured by G Thomas in 1923.
The plinth holds bronze and slate panels
recording the names of those who have died in the two Wars.
Shore War Memorial
Shore War Memorial stands within a small
walled garden area and situated on Shore Road, Littleborough.
It is constructed of grey granite and comprises a tall cross of
tapering, rectangular section rising from the base.
The Memorial was erected by the employees of
Shore Mills (now demolished) to commemorate the sacrifice
made by their fellow employees during the First and Second World
Wars.
Shore War Memorial was sold by Quartgain
Limited, who developed the mill site, to Rochdale Council in
1995.
Wardle War Memorial
Wardle War Memorial is set in a small Memorial
Garden next to the former Urban District Council Offices on Wardle
Road.
The Memorial comprises a column of polished
grey marble topped with a carved cross and wreath rising from a
stepped pediment of grey granite and contains the names of the men
of Wardle who gave their lives in both World Wars.
There is also a Memorial Plaque attached to
the front edifice of the Town Hall in Rochdale which bears the
words “This tablet was erected by public subscriptions to the
memory of the men who died in South Africa 1899 – 1902 in the
service of their Sovereign and Country”.
There is also a several other War Memorials
throughout the Borough and these are :
Rochdale Cemetery.
The Memorial stands some 113 metres from the main entrance to the
Cemetery.
The Memorial is in the form of a vertical
cross. A metal sword is secured to the front face of the
cross. Behind the Monument a narrow strip of grass fills
ground space up to a semi-circle of shaped stones inscribed with
names from the 1939 – 1945 War.
St Chad’s, Rochdale Parish
Church. The memorial is situated in the old burial
ground and can be accessed from Church Stile.
St Leanard’s. Middleton Parish
Church. The memorial is situated in the Old Burial
Ground and can be accessed from Clarke Brow is situated in the Old
Burial Ground.
Dearnley Cemetery,
Littleborough and can be accessed off Arm Road Off New
Road, Dearnley. This is held on Trust by the Council.
A lot of Churches, mills and factories
also have Rolls of Honour in memory of members of congregations and
workers who died during conflicts.
From time to time the Council still gets
correspondence from relatives asking for the names of their
families, killed during both the first and second World
Wars, to be put on War Memorials throughout the Borough.
Unfortunately there are no names on the Memorial in Rochdale as
this is dedicated to all who died during both wars.