Edgbaston

Stone memorial - Taken by Tony Woolley 23 Nov 2003

Report this image
Memorial outside church - Taken by M Kennedy 27 Mar 2017

Report this image
Memorial description - Taken by M Kennedy 27 Mar 2017

Report this image
St Augustine's War Memorial following restoration in October 2019 - Taken by Stephen Hartland 18 Oct 2018

Report this image

Submit a new image

Reference WMO/191145

Address:

St Augustine's Church

Lyttelton Road

Edgbaston

Birmingham

B16 9JN

England

Open large map

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 Portland stone

Lettering: Incised

Conflicts:

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

About the memorial: The memorial commemorating the men who perished in the Great War was unveiled in the church grounds on Thursday 28th July 1921 by Brigadier-General Sir John Barnsley. Sir John was a resident of the parish, living at ‘Earlsfield’ in Westfield Road, and what would have been particularly poignant for him, was the fact that his son, Captain Thomas Barnsley of the Coldstream Guards, was listed on the memorial and had been killed at the Battle of Passchendaele on 31st July 1917. Sir John was a member of the great Birmingham dynasty of Barnsley & Sons, builders, who had built the Council House, the Museum & Art Gallery, the Children’s Hospital, the Grand Hotel, the Calthorpe Estate and the Hall of Memory, as well as repairs to the spire of St Augustine’s, following its partial collapse in 1898. Following a competition to design the memorial, the commission was awarded to Joseph Herbert Morcom ACCA, of Leicester, who was an architect and sculptor. He was originally from Wrexham and by 1904 had been appointed assistant modelling master at the Liverpool School of Architecture and Applied Art; becoming modelling master at Leicester School of Art in 1910. Sir Whitworth Wallis, the Director of the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and William Henry Bidlake, FRIBA, one of Birmingham’s leading architects, had selected the design from those tendered from all over the country. The £550 cost of the memorial (around £25,000 in 2017) to be paid for by subscriptions from parishioners. The vicar of St Augustine’s, Dr Rosslyn Bruce, went round to every house in the parish, including many Jewish ones to raise the money. There were no refusals. At the time of the Petition, in 1921, £500 was in hand and a further £100 promised from two ex-Churchwardens. Rosslyn Bruce was keen that the memorial represented all parishioners, of different faiths and denominations, and that “the purpose has been kept that the view of meeting the wishes of many bereaved parents of many differing denominations to whom symbolism means little”. The monument was further described by Dr Bruce as not representing an urn, but rather a column. It is wrought in white Portland stone and surmounted by the symbolic flame, representative of eternal life. The angels hold wreaths of laurel and the whole embodies the severest simplicity. Unfortunately the Chancellor, Edward Hansell, did not see this and thought the memorial looked pagan in its design, but Bruce was adamant, there was to be no Christian symbol on the memorial, as it was for everyone. At the unveiling, hundreds of people attended the open-air service and after the unveiling came the dedication, which was carried out by Rosslyn Bruce, and a roll call read by Dr Shillito. The hymns were “O God Our Help” and “Ten Thousand Time, Ten Thousand” and at the close of the proceedings the National Anthem was sung and buglers sounded the Last Post.

Report a concern with this memorial

Report a duplicate memorial record

Report an inappropriate record

Submit a condition update

Condition Level:

Comments:

WMT has reviewed the October images and agrees that the memorial is Fair condition with light discolouration. It is important to manage expectations about how ‘clean’ an old structure can be, especially if it is in an environment that makes this difficult. War memorials, the majority of which are a century old, should look their age as they are historic objects which change over the years. Looking old can also help young people understand our memorials better as they look like part of our history.

Soiling might be a problem if you cannot read the letters or it is causing damage e.g. a chemical has got in to the stone and is eating it away. Overcleaning can damage a war memorial – each time you clean the stone you remove the top layer so it becomes less protected and attracts more dirt so it can become a vicious circle. As the lettering is legible cleaning is not suggested at this time.

Submitted by:

Submitted date:

Report this condition update

View more details

Grants to support the repair and conservation of war memorials are available from the charity War Memorials Trust if it has raised funds. Support is focused on war memorials in Very bad or Poor condition or where there is a serious Concern.

Before applying for a grant you should read the advice available on War Memorials Trust`s website. The What we can and cannot fund helpsheet explains what types of work the charity can fund.

If you believe your project is eligible for a grant you should complete the Pre-application enquiry form. You will need to be registered and logged in to complete this.

The Pre-application enquiry form is a series of questions to see if your project is eligible. If it is, you will need to provide further details and submit current colour photographs of the war memorial in either a png, gif, jpg or jpeg format.

You can save your Pre-application enquiry form as you go along. Once submitted War Memorials Trust will respond.

Please be aware that a summary of your enquiry, without your contact details, will appear on this page once submitted. This ensures others are aware that an enquiry has been made and can read the response to avoid duplicate enquiries. Information provided by you to us will be used for the purpose of managing the grant enquiry, for further details please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy .

pre-application

As a charity, War Memorials Trust relies on voluntary donations and every contribution, no matter how large or small, makes a really big difference to our work. Your donation will help protect and conserve war memorials for future generations so please support War Memorials Trust’s work.

donate here

Submit a new comment

Submit a new link

Report this link

Inscription:

In Honoured Memory Of All Those Went From This Parish & Fell In The Great War 1914-1919 & 1939-1945. For God And Country

Names:

1914-1919 Ernest Abrook Ralph Adams Stanley Owen Allday Ralph Amos David William Arnott Linnaeus James Bailey Leon Victor Barnes Thomas Kenneth Barnsley Arthur James Beddard Walter Stanley Bell Philip Dennis Bennett William Best John Donald Burgess Archibald Stanley Butler Horace Townshend Clare George Frederick Cottrell Harold William Cottrell Gerald Edgcumbe Crichton Ronald Crichton John Drummond Crichton Harold Cutler Reginald Cutler Reginald Blythe Day Joseph Leslie Dent Cecil John Deykin Norman Oliver Dingley Percy Groves Dingley Robert Walter Laurence Edginton Reginald Howard Edwards Alfred George Fawdry Beaumont Edmund Gammell William Wybrow Hallwright Edward Rainsford Harrison Phillip Ralph Heaton John Othie Holroyd Wilfred Hugh Holroyd Howard Humphreys Frank Jonas Douglas Grainger Jones Evelyn Joseph James Gordon Keay Rudolph R Lawrence Arthur W E Long Douglas Gordon Lunt Isidore D Marks Clarence Eric Marsh Gerald Patrick Martin Hugh Spencer Mathews Harold Frederick Mills Harold Thomas Oliver Fred Oliver Thomas Leonard Parkes Walter George Partridge George Patterson Charles Thornhill Pearson Frank Justice Phillips Richard Hill Phillips Wilfred Walter Pollard Howard Ernest Pursall Thomas Frederick Proctor Sanders John William Shorter George Barker Smith Harold Frederick Snape Thomas Gordon Speake Archibald Lionel Spiers Norman Kingsley Street William Ernest Stubbs Thomas Kemp Tabberner Harry Taylor Maurice Cecil Thompson Horace George Turner William Lang Vince Albert Edwin Wade Baron Watkins Charles Henry Watkins James Weatherhead Thomas Henry Wells Nathaniel Edward Whittaker 1939-1945 Robert Carlton Beaman Hugh Macpherson Bulpitt Derek Michael Coultas Richard Norman Aitken Dingley Michael Stuart Potts George Douglas Savage Malcolm Rex Hathaway Charles Alan Pain Geoffrey Wyndham Pain Gordon Francis Alan Gordon-Potts John Rupert Rogers

Suggest information

Listing grade:

Grade II (England)

Listing URL:

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1430856

Unique listing reference number:

1430856

Conservation area:

Information Required

Local list / Historic environment record:

Information Required

Claim Custodianship

Custodian name:

Information Required

Custodian website:

Information Required