Whitehaven

Whitehaven Cenotaph - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 13 Feb 2011

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Body of monument to show corrosion - Taken by Copeland BC 05 Dec 2019

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Base of Monument showing graffiti removal damage to stonework - Taken by Copeland BC 05 Dec 2019

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Rear of Monument - Taken by Copeland BC 05 Dec 2019

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Monument with Wreaths - Taken by Copeland BC 05 Dec 2019

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Body of Monument with damage to nose - Taken by Copeland BC 05 Dec 2019

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The Mayor laying the Borough's wreath - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 08 Nov 2020

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The Honour Party - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 08 Nov 2020

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The Display of wreaths - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 08 Nov 2020

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The 9 o'clock face showing wreaths and painted stones - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 08 Nov 2020

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Overall view showing the site of the fire - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 13 Aug 2021

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Close up of the WW1 dedication post fire - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 13 Aug 2021

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The top of the WW2 stone since the fire - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 13 Aug 2021

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The fire site with rededication flowers replaced after my photography - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 13 Aug 2021

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The south or 3 o'clock side beading showing the difference in colour/patina - Taken by Stuart Nicholson 13 Aug 2021

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Reference WMO/164097

Address:

Castle Park

Flatt Walks

Whitehaven

CA28 7RF

England

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War Memorials Trust case: War Memorials Trust needs to avoid Contributors changing location/description details as we help to protect and conserve this war memorial through our casework. You can still add photographs, update condition and use the tabs below. If you believe any of the information you cannot edit is wrong or information is missing, please make a note of the reference number and include it in your email when you contact us.

Status: On original site

Type: Freestanding

Location: External

Setting: Within a garden/park/churchyard/enclosure/Marketplace

Description: Pillar/column

Materials:

Stone Stone (any)

Lettering: Unknown

Conflicts:

First World War (1914-1918)
Second World War (1939-1945)

About the memorial: Stone pillar on two-stepped base with relief carving of a female figure holding a laurel wreath.The names are in book form in the original Borough Rolls of Honour at Whitehaven Archives Centre- Reference DH 7/2 for WW1 and DH 7/3 for WW2. The WW2 book was made by the Art Master of Kells Secondary School for the Kells Royal British Legion. On their behalf it was presented to Whitehaven Borough Council on 11/11/1953 by Major LB Hogarth, President of the Branch. The WW1 book was produced by Whitehaven Borough Council itself.

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Date Submitted:

Work Proposed:

Repairs to the original/historic/physical war memorial including structural or conservation works: or works which are required to enable the war memorial to continue to function

Status:

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Comments:

One of the major employers of the town were Smiths Brothers- who made packaging. From the 1980 history of the company by Leslie Wigham (ISBN 0 95070834 0 2) we know that the 2 partners in the Company had their fair share of family involvement in the war. Mr Charles James Smith had 4 sons- Alfred who was lost at sea when the SS Clan Murray was torpedoed, Harold suffered shock and wounds when the vehicle he was driving while serving with the RASC was blown up by a mine in France, Eric was wounded twice serving with the Infantry (1915 Dardanelles and 1917 Messines Ridge), and John served with the Royal Engineers; Adam had 5 sons- Harry wounded in 1915, 1916 and 1918- lost a leg serving with the RFC, Adam was wounded in 1917 serving with the 20th Scottish Rifles, Frances Aird served with the Northumberland Fusiliers, Gilbert served with the Royal Garrison Artillery and James Baird was a Second Lieutenant with the 7th Border Regiment.

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Comments:

Various minutes of Whitehaven Borough Council Soldier's Memorial Committee (minute books held at Whitehaven Archives)- A permanent memorial at the end of the war had first been discussed by the Council on 25 October 1915. The first meeting of the Soldier's Memorial Committee of Whitehaven Borough Council was on 11 Dec 1918 when the plan was to have a new Town Hall as the memorial. By February 1919 the plan was for a new Public Park. In March 1919 it was decided to look at the possibility of designating the existing Bransty Arch on Tangier Street as a war memorial. In April it was decided to build a new Infirmary as the War Memorial. In October 1919 it was decided that there were insufficient funds for a new hospital, the idea of a nurses home as a memorial was reviewed and rejected, and it was decided to look at the idea of a monument. On 30 January 1920 it was decided to build either a single memorial, or two smaller ones at each Lowther Street corner, in the churchyard of St Nicholas' Church, of granite, and to invite competitive designs, for a prize of £100, the memorial to be funded by public subscription. By January 1921 Whitehaven Castle had been purchased by an anonymous donor who had also provided £20,000 for the Castle's conversion into a War Memorial Hospital (WMO/287641), so this now became the Memorial Scheme. In December 1921 the Infirmary Committee decided to make the Castle Grounds available for the use of the Public. The Cenotaph derived from that decision. On 3 November 1915 it was decided by the Council to open a public subscription list to make awards to those who obtained military distinction. The first 3 to be Private Acton VC, Captain Blair DSO, and Lance Corporal Bewsher DCM. The award of a Sword of Honour to Captain Blair (made by Mr W T Storey, jeweller of Barrow in Furness was on 27 Nov 1915. It cost £44/10. Private Acton's parents were awarded a clock (after his death in action) costing £6/8/6 and made by A Lockhart & son, also a purse of money value 8/9. LC Bewsher was awarded a gold watch made by R Sutton costing £11/10. In 1916 gold watches were awarded to Cpl Ewing DCM, Sergt Major Aitken DCM, & Corporals Corkish (watch awarded 23 Oct 1917) and McGlennon DCM. In 1917 similar awards were made to Gunner Jacob Glaister DCM MM (awards made 14 November 1916 and 9 December1916)-watch awarded 10 April 1918 & Private Robert Dixon DCM, also the expenses of the parents of the late Pte Acton VC, to Buckingham Palace for the investiture were paid by the council. On 11 September 1918 the council awarded his MM to the widow of the late Gunner/Acting Bombardier J Edwards, 715288, RFA, of Mosswell Cottage, Whitehaven. On 9 October 1918 a gold watch was awarded to the widow of the late Lance Corporal Todd DCM,26994 1st/5th Border Regiment, also his medal. On 10 December 1918 the mayor presented the MM to Corporal E Wilkinson. On 23 April 1919 award of a gold watch to Sergeant J Fallowfield DCM, 240542 5th KOSB, of 31 Chapel Street was approved (awarded 9 July 1919) similarly to Lance Sergeant R Rule DCM, 240255, 7th Border, of 14 Carter Lane (awarded 13 August 1919). On 13 August 1919 the mayor presented the DCM to Sergeant JL Kneale, 40459, 1/8th Lancashire Fusiliers of Isle of Man. On 30 April 1919 award of a gold watch to Nurse Isabella Thompson, of 27a Tangier Street was approved. She had been awarded the Decoration of the Royal Red Cross, the Serbian Samaritan Cross and the Silver Medal of the Serbian Red Cross Society. On 14 May 1919 the mayor presented the MM to Mrs Graham of 16 Marlborough Street, which had been awarded to her son, the late Samuel Larkin, 240212 of the Border Regiment. On 11 June 1919 award of a gold watch to Lance Bombardier John Hully DCM, 27632, RGA, was approved. It was awarded on 11 February 1920. By 14 October 1919 the council had expended £265/15/11 on these awards of which £241/11/9 was from subscriptions. On 13 July 1921 the Mayor presented the OBE to Major Hogarth, the Borough Electrical Engineer, awarded for his war service.

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Comments:

There has never been a full public list of names for Whitehaven for either war- with one copy of the Roll of Honour being buried and the other having never been fully accessible. Modern research has shown huge errors and omissions in both the WW1 and WW2 Rolls of Honour. That does deny they were prepared, in their day, with huge care and effort. If grant funding were made available for renovations to the Cenotaph (which I pass daily) it may be useful to consider how that updated and heavily corrected names list could be made available. I pass this Cenotaph daily and was surprised to see it has been rated as 'Poor' by Copeland. My own re-assessment today would rate it as 'Fair'.
Also, for some reason, a huge amount of information on the history of the Cenotaph, which is on the IWM record, is not showing on the public version of the IWM record, and needs to be recovered from them, as the history has been exhaustively researched.

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Inscription:

TO OUR/GLORIOUS/DEAD/1914-1918/1939-1945

Names:

The names are on a scroll in a lead casket buried in the foundations of the Cenotaph.

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Listing grade:

Grade II (England)

Listing URL:

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1454340

Unique listing reference number:

1454340

Conservation area:

Whitehaven [checked 16/8/2022]

Local list / Historic environment record:

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