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How war affected The City of Salford
| Salford Fusiliers memorial |
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| The Crescent, Salford. |
The Salford Cenotaph on the Crescent (outside the old Police and
fire Station) is surmounted by the sphinx of the Lancashire Fusiliers. The sphinx is on pedestal on which is carved the single
word EGYPT. The Rose of Lancaster decorates each corner at the top of the cenotaph. The side panels feature a large carved
wreath and the names of campaigns in which the regiment took part.
Salford lost some 5,000 men from the eleven battalions it provided for the Lancashire Fusiliers in the First World
War. The raising of a memorial to honour the dead was carried out by a committee chaired by Colonel A. J. Bailey. The appeal
for funds was for both a war memorial and to provide assistance to wounded soldiers and the dependents of those who had died.
In all some £5,000 was raised, leaving, after the costs of the memorial had been paid, £3,275 for the Lancashire Fusiliers
Compassionate Fund. The memorial, in the form of a cenotaph, was designed by the long established Manchester firm, J. and
H. Patteson. The selection of a suitable site proved difficult and several sites were rejected - some in the city's principal
parks - before Albion Place on the Crescent was settled upon. The memorial was unveiled by the Earl of Derby in July 1922.
In his speech he emphasised the 'spirit of Lancashire' exemplified in those men who had who had enlisted and fought. The Lancashire
Fusiliers' Roll of Honour contained 13,549 names. Sir Montague Barlow MP handed over the memorial to the Mayor of Salford.
The regiment's enormous losses were also remembered in the memorial, designed by Lutyens, in Bury. In the mid-1980s
there was discussion about moving the memorial to Swinton, in part because of plans to convert the fire station into an exhibition
centre. In the end the memorial was left, but the area around it, which had become used for car parking, was landscaped to
both protect and preserve the dignity of the memorial.
| Eccles War Memorial |
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| Church Street |
Eccles
Eccles' principal war memorial to those who died in the First World War was unveiled in 1925. This was later than
in many other Lancashire towns but is explained in part by the erection of memorials in individual communities and streets
within the borough. The scheme to erect a war memorial for the whole borough was launched in February 1924.
Various ideas for a memorial were discussed - including a bridge
across the Manchester Ship Canal and a new peal of bells for the parish church - before it was decided to erect a more conventional
war memorial on a site in the centre of the town, close to the town hall. The commission was given to the Manchester sculptor,
John Cassidy. When, in January 1925 Cassidy displayed a model of the memorial in Eccles, local subscriptions were still being
collected. Scrolls taken from many of the local street memorials were placed beneath the foundation stone.
The memorial was unveiled in August 1925 by Lord Derby who acknowledged the symbolism of the memorial, observing that
among the different purposes it served was to be 'an unspeaking appeal to those who came after us to avoid war as far as honour
would allow.' The laying out of the area around the memorial in York stone and flower beds, added to the importance of this
public space.
Annoyingly (for Local NMBS lad Steve) underneath this memorial are many "Street Shrines" - Eccles Borough Council thought
they were best there when they were taken from walls in slum clearances. See the Ellesmere Street (Patricroft) one below.
| Long Lost Street Shrine (click to enlarge) |
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| Ellesmere Street, Patricroft |
Agecroft
At the junction of Bolton Road and Agecroft Road stands a stone
cross with the inscription "Lest we forget".
Behind the cross is a stone wall on which is written:
This cross was erected by Andrew Knowles and Sons to the memory
of the brave men from their collieries who laid down their lives for their country A.D. 1914-1918.
| Agecroft Mine memorial |
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| Agecroft, Nr. Swinton |
Peel Green and Winton
One of Salford's main cemeteries at Brookhouse part of the village of Peel Green (nr. Eccles) has a small cross of
remembrance. Although there are no names of the fallen on the cross, next to it are 5 graves with CWGC headstones -
all Second World War.
The Village where Steve grew up is called Winton. A small hamlet within Eccles. At St. Mary Magdelene Church
is a small memorial, but oddly some of the names on there are for men who lived 100s of miles away.
| Peel Green memorial |
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| Brookhouse cemetery |
| St. Mary Magdelene memorial |
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| Westbourne Road, Winton |
Clifton
This memorial stands on the A666 at Clifton, near Swinton. It is next to the junction with the M60 (Jct
16). Below the lion it states "To the Memory of the men of Clifton"
There is a list of men who died - a notable feature is the surname "Wallwork". 5 are on the memorial - one must
assume that these are related (Clifton being a small village at the time of WWI). The Wallworks are - Fred, Geoff, Harry,
Joseph and sadly one you cannot read the first name as the stone is weathered.
| Clifton War memorial |
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| near the M60 |
| Irlam War memorial |
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| Princess park |
Irlam
There are two memorials in Irlam. The main one is in Princess park and is a beautiful and well maintain memorial.
The other is in St. John the Baptist Church on Liverpool road. Oddly a memorial to George Thomas is the only other thing
in the churchyard.
| St John the Baptist War Memorial |
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| Liverpool road, Irlam |
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