111-576: Manchester Cenotaph is a war memorial in St Peter's Square , Manchester , England. Manchester was late in commissioning a First World War memorial compared with most British towns and cities; the city council did not convene a war memorial committee until 1922. The committee quickly achieved its target of raising £10,000 but finding a suitable location for the monument proved controversial. The preferred site in Albert Square would have required
222-531: A catafalque . The pylon rises from the base in diminishing stages, narrowing as it rises. Below the catafalque, on the front and rear, are moulded swords and imperial crowns, and to the sides are Manchester's coat of arms surrounded by laurel wreaths . The cenotaph bears inscriptions below the coat of arms: " TO THE HONOURED MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY " (on the north-west side) and " O LORD GOD OF OUR FATHERS KEEP THIS/FOREVER IN THE IMAGINATION OF THE THOUGHTS OF THE HEART OF THY PEOPLE " (on
333-673: A central business district in the town centre , which is the local centre of both the town and borough. There is a mixture of high-density urban areas , suburbs , semi-rural and rural locations in Rochdale, but overwhelmingly the land use in the town is urban. For purposes of the Office for National Statistics , the Borough of Rochdale forms the fifth largest settlement of the Greater Manchester Urban Area ,
444-545: A circular area extending three-quarters of a mile from the old market-place. Under the terms of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 , Rochdale became the head of Rochdale Poor Law Union which was established on 15 February 1837, despite considerable local opposition. In 1856 Rochdale was incorporated as a municipal borough , giving it borough status in the United Kingdom and after 1858 it obtained
555-465: A community which has revered the fallen warrior and emblazoned the phrase 'Lest We Forget' on monuments throughout the land. [...] [D]o we make room for the Aboriginal dead on our memorials, cenotaphs, boards of honour and even in the pantheon of national heroes? If we are to continue to celebrate the sacrifice of men and women who died for their country can we deny admission to fallen tribesmen? There
666-483: A controversial choice; both because it was then much the smallest of the three options, and also due to its being the location of the former St Peter's church, demolished in 1907. The statutory trustees appointed to administer the funds paid over by the city council for the deconsecrated site of the church had been required by the Manchester Churches Act of 1906 to erect and maintain a memorial cross on
777-422: A derivation from reced , an obscure Old English element meaning "hall". Although the name of the river is still pronounced / r oʊ tʃ / (with a long vowel sound), Rochdale is pronounced / ˈ r ɒ tʃ d eɪ l / (with a shorter o sound). A Roman road , leading from Mamucium ( Manchester ) to Eboracum ( York ), crossed the moors at Blackstone Edge . Rochdale was subjected to incursions by
888-463: A grant for a market and an annual fair. The market was held outside the parish church where there was an "Orator's Corner". John Byron bought the manor in 1638 and it was sold by the poet, Lord Byron , in 1823, to the Deardens, who hold the title. Rochdale had no manor house but the "Orchard" built in 1702 and acquired in 1745 by Simon Dearden was the home of the lords of the manor after 1823. It
999-507: A memorial in the form of a 'Hall of Memory'; but would be contingent on also funding a new library. As nothing was yet decided on these wider schemes, any plans for the area would have delayed the war memorial project further and so in May 1923 the memorial committee, acting on its own initiative, disregarded the vote of the Council and switched attention to St Peter's Square. The square was itself
1110-647: A national collection of Lutyens' war memorials. In the aftermath of the First World War and its unprecedented casualties, thousands of war memorials were built across Britain. Virtually every village, town, or city erected some form of memorial to commemorate their dead. During the war, only London provided more recruits to the British Army than Manchester. The Manchester Regiment and the Lancashire Fusiliers , which largely recruited from
1221-520: A public consultation on moving the cenotaph to an alternative site (within the 1980 extension of the square), to allow for further expansion of the tram network. The plans had a mixed reception. Some objections were made by the public but there was support from veterans, church, and heritage groups. The relocation was approved in 2012, and in January 2014 the cenotaph was dismantled before it was cleaned and restored. The burial crypts were to remain beneath
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#17327733698541332-658: A result of high levels of unemployment in the aftermath of the war. For a civic memorial to the Great War, £10,000 was relatively modest sum; the counterpart public appeal in Rochdale had raised nearly £30,000, and the resulting Rochdale Cenotaph , then just completed, had cost £12,611. The proprietor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper, Edward Hulton , offered to cover the entire cost of the Manchester memorial, but
1443-637: A war. It has been suggested that the world's earliest known war memorial is the White Monument at Tell Banat , Aleppo Governorate , Syria, which dates from the 3rd millennium BC and appears to have involved the systematic burial of fighters from a state army. The Nizari Ismailis of the Alamut period (the Assassins) had made a secret roll of honor in Alamut Castle containing the names of
1554-484: Is a cenotaph , flanked by twin obelisks , and a Stone of Remembrance, all in Portland stone on a raised coved platform. The memorial covers an area of approximately 93 feet (28 metres) by 53 feet (16 metres). The cenotaph is 32 feet (9.8 metres) high made from 160 long tons (160,000 kilograms) of Portland stone. The pylon is surmounted by a sculpture of an unknown soldier, partially covered by his greatcoat , lying on
1665-685: Is a memorial dedicated to all Americans who served in the Great War. For various reasons connected with their character, the same may be said to apply to certain governmental memorials in the United Kingdom ( The Cenotaph in London, relating to the Empire in general, and the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh, also with a reference to the Empire, but with particular connections to the United Kingdom, having been opened by
1776-414: Is bound by other towns, including Whitworth , Littleborough , Milnrow , Royton , Heywood and Shaw and Crompton , with little or no green space between them. Rochdale's built environment consists of a mixture of infrastructure, housing types and commercial buildings from a number of periods. Rochdale's housing stock is mixed, but has a significant amount of stone or red-brick terraced houses from
1887-401: Is currently archiving all post-1914 Commonwealth war graves and Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials to create a virtual memorial (see The War Graves Photographic Project for further details). During WWI , many nations saw massive devastation and loss of life. More people lost their lives in the east than in the west, but the outcome was different. In the west, and in response to
1998-489: Is much in their story that Australians have traditionally admired. They were ever the underdogs, were always outgunned, yet frequently faced death without flinching. If they did not die for Australia as such they fell defending their homelands, their sacred sites, their way of life. What is more the blacks bled on their own soil and not half a world away furthering the strategic objectives of a distant Motherland whose influence must increasingly be seen as of transient importance in
2109-469: Is often claimed for the politician visits to the Japanese shrine. Soviet World War II memorials included quotes of Joseph Stalin 's texts, frequently replaced after his death. Such memorials were often constructed in city centres and now are sometimes regarded as symbols of Soviet occupation and removed, which in turn may spark protests (see Bronze Soldier of Tallinn ). The Fusiliers' memorial arch to
2220-547: Is one of eight designed by Lutyens in England. The earliest to be erected was at Southampton in 1920; the last at Norwich , in 1927. The monument is made from Cornish granite and sits on the site of a building known as Manor House, which was used as a recruiting station during World War I. The cenotaph was built by Hobson Ltd of Nottingham at a cost of £12,611. It was unveiled by the Earl of Derby on 26 November 1922 and dedicated by
2331-508: Is one of four townships in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale along with Middleton , Heywood and Pennine (a township which includes Littleborough and Wardle ). Rochdale is considered an Urban Subdivision by the local borough council. In 2011, 34.8% of Rochdale's population were non white British, compared with 21.4% for the surrounding borough. Rochdale town also has almost double the percentage of Asians compared with
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#17327733698542442-518: Is the Victory' relating to amongst other architecture the 1871 Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences with a frieze including the same words and concluding 'Glory be to God on high and on earth peace'). In many cases, World War I memorials were later extended to show the names of locals who died in the World War II in addition. Since that time memorials to the dead in other conflicts such as
2553-697: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission have an identical war memorial called the Cross of Sacrifice designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield that varies in height from 18 ft to 32 ft depending on the size of the cemetery. If there are one thousand or more burials, a Commonwealth cemetery will contain a Stone of Remembrance , designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens with words from the Wisdom of Sirach : " Their name liveth for evermore "; all
2664-646: The Danes ; the castle that Castleton is named after, and of which no trace remains, was one of twelve Saxon forts possibly destroyed in frequent conflicts that occurred between the Saxons and Danes during the 10th and 11th centuries. At the time of the Norman Conquest the manor was held by a Saxon thegn , Gamel. Rochdale appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Recedham and was described as lying within
2775-541: The Domesday Book of 1086 as "Recedham Manor" but can be traced back to the 9th century. The ancient parish of Rochdale was a division of the Salford Hundred and one of the larger ecclesiastical parishes in England, comprising several townships . By 1251, the town had become of such importance that it was granted a royal charter . The town became a centre of northern England 's woollen trade, and by
2886-589: The Israel-Hamas war . Six months later Galloway was defeated in the 2024 election by Labour MP Paul Waugh . Rochdale is approximately 450 feet (137 m) above sea level , 10 miles (16 km) north-northeast of Manchester city centre , in the valley of the River Roch . Blackstone Edge , Saddleworth Moor and the South Pennines are close to the east, whilst on all other sides, Rochdale
2997-617: The Korean War and Vietnam War have also noted individual contributions, at least in the West. In relation to actions which may well in point of fact be historically connected with the world wars even if this happens, for whatever reason, not to be a matter of general discussion (e.g. occupation by Western forces in the 1920s of Palestine and other areas being the homelands of Arabs in the Near East and followed eighty years later in 2001 by
3108-758: The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale , one of the ten metropolitan boroughs in Greater Manchester . Since 1953, Rochdale has been twinned with Bielefeld in Germany and since 1956 with Tourcoing in France, as well as Sahiwal in Pakistan since 1988 and Lviv in Ukraine since 1992. Sahiwal council has received many gifts like fire brigade trucks, ambulances and grants for hospitals from
3219-994: The Prince of Wales in 1927 and with the King and the Queen the first visitors and contributors of a casket of the Scottish names for addition within the Shrine). In Maryland , in the center of the city of Baltimore facing the Baltimore City Hall to the west is a geometric paved tree-lined plaza with the War Memorial Building to the east with a large marble decorated civic auditorium and historical and veterans museum below, designed by Laurence Hall Fowler, dedicated 1925. After World War I, some towns in France set up pacifist war memorials. Instead of commemorating
3330-614: The Rochdale Canal opened, providing the first link over the Pennines between Lancashire and Yorkshire. During the 19th century, Rochdale became one of the world's most prominent cotton processing towns rising to prominence and becoming a major centre for textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution . It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the first ever industrialised towns. By
3441-900: The Royal Dublin Fusiliers who fought in the Boer War , erected at 1907 in St. Stephen's Green , Dublin, was called "Traitors' Gate" by the Redmondites and later Irish Republicans , from whose point of view Irish soldiers going off to fight the British Empire 's wars were traitors to Ireland. The sharpness of the controversy gradually faded, and while the term "Traitors' Gate" is still in occasional colloquial use in Dublin daily life, it has mostly lost its pejorative meaning. In Australia, in 1981, historian Henry Reynolds raised
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3552-843: The United Kingdom's third largest conurbation . Like much of the British Isles , Rochdale experiences a temperate maritime climate , with relatively cool summers and mild winters. At the 2001 UK census , Rochdale had a population of 95,796. The 2001 population density was 11,186 inhabitants per square mile (4,319/km ), with a 100 to 94.4 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 28.2% were single (never married), 44.0% married, and 8.8% divorced. Rochdale's 37,730 households included 30.4% one-person, 36.6% married couples living together, 8.4% were co-habiting couples, and 11.1% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 37.1% had no academic qualifications , similar to
3663-588: The Yasukuni Shrine in Japan, where a number of convicted World War II war criminals are interred. Chinese and Korean representatives have often protested against the visits of Japanese politicians to the shrine. The visits have in the past led to severe diplomatic conflicts between the nations, and Japanese businesses were attacked in China after a visit by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to
3774-476: The '9/11' raid on New York and elsewhere in the United States) similar historically and architecturally significant memorials are also designed and constructed (vide National September 11 Memorial ). They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. Blow out, you bugles, over
3885-634: The 1920s and 1930s, but one that survives is a Mark IV Female tank at Ashford, Kent . Several Second World War tanks are preserved as memorials to major armoured offensives in the Ardennes , such as the Battle of Sedan and the Battle of the Bulge . These include: A plinth-mounted T-35/85 tank commemorates the soldiers of the 5th Guards Tank Army , at Znamianka in Ukraine . Many cemeteries tended by
3996-485: The 1940s. The statue was the first of a woman to be unveiled in Greater Manchester in more than 100 years and was part of the council's wider regeneration of the town centre. In Broadfield Park in the town centre there is a statue of John Bright MP, a British Radical and Liberal statesman, who is regarded as one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. Bright
4107-458: The Archdeacon of Rochdale. It is about 10m tall and the top section is a catafalque , which includes a carving of a horizontal figure. Adjacent to the town hall is a statue of the late singer, comedian and actress Dame Gracie Fields . The statue was unveiled by Roy Hudd on Sunday 18 September 2016. It was created by sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn , who based the statue on Fields's look during
4218-515: The British Legion in recommending Albert Square as the memorial site; nevertheless the Bishop of Manchester , ex-officio chairman of the trustees, had subsequently indicated approval to relocating the cross and burials from St Peters Square, should this be needed to accommodate the war memorial. A full meeting of the trustees did not, however, endorse him in this. Lutyens provisionally resolved
4329-496: The Council agreed. The war memorial committee appointed Percy Worthington , a local architect, as the assessor for the competition but attracted severe criticism in the local press when it reserved to itself the right to veto Worthington's choice. After further debate, a subcommittee approached Sir Edwin Lutyens , and the competition collapsed. Conveniently, Lutyens assured the committee in August 1923 that his design could accommodate
4440-436: The Great War (2008), "the heated discussions resulted in a compromise that clearly show[ed]" as Moore's cross "severely impinged on the setting of the memorial and appear[ed] to be an integral part of it". Despite the war memorial committee's promise that local labour would be used, the monument was built by Nine Elms Stone Masonry Works of London, resulting in a sense of betrayal in the local community. Having cost £6,940, it
4551-532: The Labour Party. Tony Lloyd (Labour) was elected as MP for Rochdale constituency in the 2017 general election , and represented the constituency until his death on 17 January 2024. The seat was won by George Galloway , leader and founder of the Workers Party of Britain , in the 2024 Rochdale by-election on 29 February 2024, in a campaign that was dominated by opposition to British involvement in
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4662-519: The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, which had a population of 211,699 in 2011. This means the town takes up almost 55% of the borough's population. As of 2021, the town of Rochdale's population was enumerated at 111,261, and its ethnic makeup was 57.2% White , 34.3% Asian , 2.6% Mixed , 3.4% Black , 2.1% Other and 0.5% Arab . The town's religious makeup was 38% Christian , 36% Muslim , 24.2% No Religion, and has small Hindu , Sikh , Buddhist and Jewish communities. More than 40% of children in
4773-641: The Queensland Native Mounted Police" was "frequently shot at" and "eventually blown up". With the advent of long war, some memorials are constructed before the conflict is over, leaving space for extra names of the dead. For instance, the Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial in Irvine, CA , memorializes an ongoing pair of US wars, and has space to inscribe the names of approximately 8,000 fallen servicemembers, while
4884-681: The Rochdale borough are living in poverty, There are four grade I listed buildings in the town: the Town Hall, the Cenotaph, the Church of St Mary in the Baum , and St Edmund's Church . Rochdale Town Hall is a Victorian era town hall "widely recognized as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country". It is the ceremonial headquarters of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and houses local government departments, including
4995-471: The Stone of Remembrance provided east-facing tribunes for the colour party in memorial parades. The cenotaph is topped by an effigy of a fallen soldier and decorated with relief carvings of the imperial crown, Manchester's coat of arms and inscriptions commemorating the dead. The structures, based on classical architecture , use abstract, ecumenical shapes rather than overt religious symbolism. In submitting
5106-560: The Stones of Remembrance are 11 ft 6 ins long and 5 ft high with three steps leading up to them. Arlington National Cemetery has a Canadian Cross of Sacrifice with the names of all the citizens of the USA who lost their lives fighting in the Canadian forces during the Korean War and two World Wars. War memorials can sometimes be politically controversial. A notable case is that of
5217-429: The UK National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield in England hosts the UK's National Armed Forces Memorial which displays the names of the more than 16,000 people who have already died on active service in the UK armed forces since World War II, with more space available for future fatalities. Rochdale Rochdale ( / ˈ r ɒ tʃ d eɪ l / ROTCH -dayl ) is a town in Greater Manchester , England, and
5328-421: The United Kingdom but evidently sentiments were in many cases identical. Thus, and although it seems that this has never been generally recognized, it can be argued that there was throughout the United Kingdom a construction of war memorials with reference to the concept of peace (e.g. West Hartlepool War Memorial in what is now known as Hartlepool (previously West Hartlepool ) with the inscription 'Thine O Lord
5439-540: The administration of Lancashire County Council . In 1900, most of Castleton Urban District was added to the borough; this urban district included parts of Castleton, Hopwood and Thornham townships. In 1933, parts of Norden Urban District and Birtle with Bamford civil parish were added to the borough. Under the Local Government Act 1972 , the town's autonomous county borough status was abolished. The municipal boroughs of Middleton and Heywood and Littleborough , Milnrow and Wardle urban districts are now part of
5550-429: The administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale . In the 2021 census the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wider borough. Rochdale is in the foothills of the South Pennines and lies in the dale (valley) of the River Roch , 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Oldham , and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Manchester . Rochdale's recorded history begins with an entry in
5661-472: The armistice , but Manchester did not get underway until 1922. As a result of pressure from the local branch of the British Legion , the city council convened a war memorial committee of 12 persons, chaired by the mayor and consisting of "Aldermen and Councillors [and] representative men connected with different aspects of Manchester business, with the military forces and other sections of Manchester life", to explore options for commemoration. The committee limited
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#17327733698545772-422: The assassins and their victims during their uprising . The oldest war memorial in the United Kingdom is Oxford University's All Souls College . It was founded in 1438 with the provision that its fellows should pray for those killed in the long wars with France. War memorials for the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) were the first in Europe to have rank-and-file soldiers commemorated by name. Every soldier that
5883-496: The attention of Adolf Hitler who was said to have admired it so much that he wished to ship the building, brick-by-brick, to Nazi Germany had the United Kingdom been defeated in the Second World War . The Rochdale Cenotaph , a war memorial bearing four sculpted and painted flags, is located opposite the town hall. It commemorates those who died in conflicts since the First World War . The monument and surrounding gardens were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens . Rochdale’s cenotaph
5994-463: The base of the memorial. The remainder of the £10,000 raised by the war memorial committee was used to provide hospital beds for ex-servicemen and their families. The controversies that arose during the memorial's gestation largely disappeared after its unveiling; the Manchester City News praised the design for its "simplicity of forms and rhythmic beauty of proportion". A marble plaque, added nearby and dedicated to " OUR ITALIAN COMRADES 1915–1918 ",
6105-434: The borough's civil registration office . Built in the Gothic Revival style it was inaugurated on 27 September 1871. The architect, William Henry Crossland , won a competition held in 1864. The town hall had a 240-foot (73 m) clock tower topped by a wooden spire with a gilded statue of Saint George and the Dragon which were destroyed by fire on 10 April 1883. A new 191-foot (58 m) stone clock tower and spire in
6216-412: The budget to £10,000 and very rapidly raised this sum; donors being assured that local firms would benefit from the construction and resulting employment. Nonetheless, the letters pages of local newspapers featured several missives from ex-servicemen who felt that the cenotaph was a waste of money and that the funds would be better spent on the survivors and war widows, many of whom faced extreme hardship as
6327-423: The burials would need to be removed individually and reburied on separate plots in one of the City cemeteries; the cross being relocated to the grounds of Manchester Cathedral . However, this would add considerable time and cost to the memorial project. More controversy surrounded the choice of architect. The Manchester Art Federation and other bodies petitioned the city council to hold an open competition, to which
6438-435: The cenotaph to Piccadilly. Over the following century the square itself changed radically. In 1924 the square was small and, apart from the Midland Hotel most of the surrounding buildings were no more than four stories high; but then an entire block on the north side was cleared in the 1930s for the construction behind it of the Manchester Central Library ; and then further blocks to the northeast were cleared in 1980 to open
6549-447: The cenotaph, is reminiscent of his earlier cenotaph in Southampton . While other First World War memorials feature sculpture or overt religious symbolism, Manchester's, like many of his memorials, uses abstract and ecumenical shapes inspired by classical architecture . Its effigy of the unknown soldier raised high on the pylon rather than at eye level is reminiscent of ancient tower tombs. The sculpture's position high above eye level gives
6660-423: The centenary of the First World War, Manchester Cenotaph was recognised as part of the "national collection" of Lutyens' war memorials. Bibliography Citations Italics denote building under construction War memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in
6771-417: The city and towns to the north, were swollen by pals battalions drawn from local employers, social groups, and neighbourhoods. By the end of the war, over 13,000 men of the Manchester Regiment, including more than 4,000 from the pals battalions and 13,600 Lancashire Fusiliers, had been killed. An estimated 22,000 Mancunians died and 55,000 were wounded. Many towns and cities began to erect war memorials after
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#17327733698546882-434: The committee declined, feeling that the funding should come from the people and city of Manchester. Subsequently, the committee resisted all suggestions that the memorial budget might be increased, or that the list of donors might be extended. Constitutionally, the memorial committee was a committee of the City Council, but acted throughout as having independent discretion and funds. Three potential sites were considered for
6993-429: The cross and crypts remaining in place, while clearly distinct; and so this whole issue was deferred until after the cenotaph had been completed and dedicated. Lutyens, described by Historic England as "the leading English architect of his generation", was amongst the most prominent designers of war memorials in Britain. Before the war, he had established his reputation designing country houses for wealthy patrons but
7104-406: The dead of the Korean War and other later conflicts. Nevertheless, by enclosing cross and cenotaph within a single space, the post-WWII memorial complex conflicted with Lutyens's intention that the cenotaph should be free of explicit religious associations. The suitability of St Peter's Square re-emerged in 1925 during discussions about the proposed art gallery and consideration was given to moving
7215-429: The design, Lutyens stated that he envisaged the crypts and cross as remaining in place; as the cenotaph could stand on the foundations of the former church tower and the cross would serve to "consecrate the site", while there would be no explicit religious symbolism on the cenotaph itself. The memorial was unveiled on 12 July 1924 by the Earl of Derby , assisted by Mrs Bingle, a local resident whose three sons had died in
7326-427: The early 18th century was described as being "remarkable for its many wealthy merchants". In the 19th century it became a mill town and centre for textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution . The town is historically within Lancashire , and was a county borough within it before 1974. The town is recorded as Recedham in the Domesday Book and Rachetham in 1193. Variations of Rechedham continue into
7437-429: The eight medals awarded to her sons: Sergeant Ernest Bingle aged 34 and Gunner Charles Bingle aged 27 of the Royal Garrison Artillery , and Corporal Nelson Bingle aged 21 of the Royal Engineers . All were killed in 1918—Nelson in March and Ernest and Charles in May. The unveiling ceremony at Manchester took place in front of a large crowd and a guard of honour from the Manchester Regiment and ex-servicemen. The service
7548-434: The end of the 19th century Rochdale had woollen mills, silk manufacturers, bleachers and dyers , though cotton spinning and weaving were the dominant industries in the community. The socioeconomic change brought by the success of Rochdale's textile industry in the 19th century led to its rise to borough status and it became an important regional town based upon this economic success. The Rochdale Pioneers opened
7659-421: The figure for all of Rochdale, but higher than that of 28.9% in all of England. Rochdale has the highest number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in Greater Manchester, with 6.1 per cent of its adult population claiming the benefit in early 2010. In 2011, Rochdale had a population of 107,926 which makes it about the same size as Salford and Stockport . The population increased from 95,796 in 2001. Rochdale
7770-436: The first Cooperative shop in Toad Lane in 1844. The reformer and Member of Parliament , John Bright (1811–1889), was born in Rochdale and gained a reputation as a leader of political dissent and supporter of the Anti-Corn Law League . By the middle of the 20th century, Rochdale's economy was in decline, reflecting the broader economic situation in other textile manufacturing towns in the North West England . This decline
7881-437: The glorious dead, these memorials denounce war with figures of grieving widows and children rather than soldiers. Such memorials provoked anger among veterans and the military in general. The most famous is at Gentioux-Pigerolles in the department of Creuse . Below the column which lists the name of the fallen stands an orphan in bronze pointing to an inscription 'Maudite soit la guerre' (Cursed be war). Feelings ran so high that
7992-471: The history of the continent. Reynolds' suggestion proved controversial. Occasional memorials have been erected to commemorate Aboriginal people's resistance to colonisation, or to commemorate white massacres of Indigenous Australians . These memorials have often generated controversy. For example, a 1984 memorial to the Kalkadoon people's "resistance against the paramilitary force of European settlers and
8103-631: The hundred of Salford and the county of Cheshire. At that time, Rochdale was under the lordship of Roger the Poitevin . Before 1212, Henry II granted the manor to Roger de Lacy whose family retained it as part of the Honour of Clitheroe until it passed to the Dukes of Lancaster by marriage and then by 1399 to the Crown . In medieval times, weekly markets were held from 1250 when Edmund de Lacy obtained
8214-406: The issue of whether war memorials should be erected to Indigenous Australians who had died fighting against British invaders on their lands. How, then, do we deal with the Aboriginal dead? White Australians frequently say that 'all that' should be forgotten. But it will not be. It cannot be. Black memories are too deeply, too recently scarred. And forgetfulness is a strange prescription coming from
8325-485: The large chapelry of Saddleworth , which lay entirely in Yorkshire , the parish of Rochdale had an area of 65.4 square miles (169.4 km ). In 1825, commissioners for the social and economic improvement of the town were established. The town became part of a parliamentary borough in 1832. As there were no existing township boundaries, the commissioners and later the parliamentary constituency were deemed to cover
8436-400: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rochdale's Town Hall , seven large tower blocks (locally nicknamed 'The Seven Sisters') and a number of former cotton mills mark the town's skyline. The urban structure of Rochdale is regular when compared to most towns in England , its form restricted in places by its hilly upland terrain. Much of Rochdale's built environment is centred around
8547-490: The local press when it reserved the right to overrule the judgement of the independent assessor. A sub-committee therefore approached Sir Edwin Lutyens directly, who produced, in a matter of weeks, a variation of his design for the Cenotaph in London. The memorial consists of a central cenotaph and a Stone of Remembrance flanked by twin obelisks , all features characteristic of Lutyens' works. Raised steps either side of
8658-425: The memorial was not officially inaugurated until 1990 and soldiers at the nearby army camp were under orders to turn their heads when they walked past. Another such memorial is in the small town of Équeurdreville-Hainneville (formerly Équeurdreville) in the department of Manche . Here the statue is of a grieving widow with two small children. There seems to be no exact equivalent form of a pacifist memorial within
8769-478: The memorial: Albert Square , Piccadilly Gardens and St Peter's Square ; St Ann's Square being ruled out as already containing the civic monument to the Boer War . With the support of the British Legion, Albert Square emerged as the favourite. The site proved controversial as the Manchester Society of Architects and Manchester Art Foundation led objections to the removal and relocation of statues in
8880-762: The most influential designs for war memorials in Britain. Manchester's cenotaph, a close replica, is one of seven in England based on it. Lutyens designed the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme , the largest British war memorial in the world, for the IWGC in 1928. Around the same time he designed his only other commission in Manchester, the Midland Bank at 100 King Street . Manchester's war memorial
8991-428: The new tram-lines, and so were provided with a concrete lid, while the memorial cross, also cleaned and restored, was returned to its original position above the crypts. In 2014 the cenotaph was reconstructed in a new memorial garden on the opposite side of the square aligned with Manchester Town Hall 's southern entrance. The city council commissioned conservation architects Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture to manage
9102-538: The overhead powerlines of the Metrolink tram system. The cenotaph, obelisks, and stone are features typical of Lutyens' war memorial work, although Manchester's is one of only two with flanking obelisks— Northampton's has a similar pair of obelisks flanking a Stone of Remembrance. St Peter's Square already housed a memorial cross by Temple Moore marking the location of the former St Peter's Church, which had been demolished in 1907. The statutory trustees had agreed with
9213-608: The people of Rochdale. The Rochdale constituency was created by the Reform Act of 1832 . The constituency was held for two decades during the 20th century by Cyril Smith , first of the Liberal Party and then of the Liberal Democrats . Following the 2010 general election , the town was represented by Simon Danczuk , who was elected as a Labour MP but was subsequently suspended and under investigation by
9324-567: The powers of the improvement commissioners. In 1872, the remaining area of Wardleworth township and parts of Castleton, Wuerdle and Wardle, Spotland and Butterworth townships were added to the borough. When the administrative county of Lancashire was created by the Local Government Act 1888 , Rochdale was elevated to become the County Borough of Rochdale and was, in modern terms, a unitary authority area exempt from
9435-487: The relocation and design the new setting which places the cenotaph, obelisks and stone on a plinth in an oval surrounded by a low wall. The garden opened to the public in September 2014. The cenotaph was damaged in the first week when skateboarders began using the area as a skatepark. Repair work costing £4,000 started shortly afterwards, and extra security measures (including 24-hour CCTV ) were put in place. The cenotaph
9546-468: The removal and relocation of other statues and monuments, and was opposed by the city's artistic bodies. The next choice was Piccadilly Gardens , an area already identified for a possible art gallery and library; but in the interests of speedier delivery, the memorial committee settled on St Peter's Square. The area within the square had been had been purchased by the City Council in 1906, having been
9657-591: The rich Dead. There are none of these so lonely and poor of old, But dying has made us rarer gifts than gold. A tank monument or armoured memorial is a tank withdrawn from military service and displayed to commemorate a battle or a military unit. Obsolete tanks may also be displayed as gate guards outside military bases. Immediately following the First World War, a number of obsolete tanks were presented to towns and cities throughout Britain for display and for use as memorials: most were scrapped in
9768-564: The shrine was widely reported and criticized in Chinese and Korean media. In a similar case, former German chancellor Helmut Kohl was criticised by writers Günter Grass and Elie Wiesel for visiting the war cemetery at Bitburg (in the company of Ronald Reagan ) which also contained the bodies of SS troops . Unlike the case of the Yasukuni Shrine, there was no element of intentional disregard of international opinion involved, as
9879-477: The site for the monument. The City was already considering building an art gallery at Piccadilly on the space left after the old Manchester Royal Infirmary had been demolished, albeit that this was currently filled by temporary huts housing the books from Manchester Central Library . Siting the memorial on this land was welcomed by the Art Gallery Committee, who proceeded to commission designs for
9990-411: The site of the former St Peter's Church; whose sealed burial crypts remained with burials untouched and marked above ground by a memorial stone cross. Negotiations to remove these stalled so the construction of the cenotaph proceeded with the cross and burials in situ. Having picked a site, it was originally proposed to choose an architect by open competition, but the memorial committee was criticised in
10101-410: The site, as well as to protect the bodies of the dead still interred in vaults underneath; and they objected to the removal of both. The dispute was only partially resolved, as although the trustees consented to the construction of the cenotaph they refused to allow the removal of the cross while the burials remained in place. Accordingly, discussions proceeded with the Manchester diocese on the basis that
10212-487: The soldier anonymity, complementing the abstract shapes of the structures and allowing an onlooker to project an image of their own choosing onto it, and distances the viewer from the fact of the death and focuses on an idealised sense of self-sacrifice. The Pevsner City Guide to Manchester described the cenotaph as one of the few impressive war memorials in Manchester but, in its original site at western end of St Peter's Square, lamented its cluttered setting and proximity to
10323-434: The south east). Identical, 23-foot (7-metre) high obelisks stand either side of the cenotaph and the Stone of Remembrance is set in front. The stone, a monolith in the shape of an altar, is 12 feet (3.7 metres) long and subtly, aesthetically curved ; it is devoid of decoration and inscribed, " THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE ". Lutyens' design, with flanking objects, recumbent figure and a Stone of Remembrance set in front of
10434-607: The square to the Manchester Town Hall Extension and the Collier Street facade of Manchester Town Hall . From 1992 St Peter's Square became the location of one of the main city centre stops for Manchester's Metrolink tram system; such that stanchions and overhead power lines increasingly intruded on the cenotaph, and platforms abutted directly onto the low wall around the post-WWII garden of remembrance. In March 2011, Manchester City Council began
10545-475: The square, which would have been required to create a suitable space for the war memorial. King George V had consented to the relocation of the memorial to his German grandfather , Prince Albert , but objections persisted and the city architect estimated the cost of relocating the statues at £8,400. The City Council rejected Albert Square in March 1923, and voted by 71 votes to 30 in favour of Piccadilly Gardens as
10656-518: The stand-off by stating that he was happy for the cross to be retained; and the issue was adjourned until after the cenotaph had been erected. Nevertheless, the impracticality of having a cross obscuring the view of the cenotaph for spectators became apparent at the dedication ceremony, and negotiations about relocating cross and burials recommenced; but the trustees remained reluctant and after further discussion Lutyens said he did not object to their remaining. According to Tim Skelton, author of Lutyens and
10767-455: The style of Manchester Town Hall was designed by Alfred Waterhouse , and erected in 1888. Art critic Nikolaus Pevsner described the building as possessing a "rare picturesque beauty". Its stained glass windows, some designed by William Morris , are credited as "the finest modern examples of their kind". It has been described as one of the United Kingdom's finest examples of Victorian Gothic revival architecture. The building came to
10878-526: The textile industry was rooted in the domestic system , but towards the end of the 18th century mills powered by water started to appear. Water power was replaced by steam power in the 19th century and local coal became important. The Deardens who were lords of the manor were among the local coal mine owners. By the mid-1800s, the woollen trade was declining and the cotton trade was rapidly growing in importance. Cotton manufacturing took advantage of new technological developments in spinning and weaving. In 1804,
10989-560: The textile industry. Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th century , Rochdale was recorded in 1066 as held by Gamel, one of the twenty-one thegns of the Hundred of Salfordshire . The ancient ecclesiastical parish of Rochdale was divided into four townships: Butterworth , Castleton , Hundersfield and Spotland . Hundersfield was later divided into four townships: Blatchinworth, Calderbrook , Wardleworth and Wuerdle and Wardle. Excluding
11100-414: The thirteenth century when the first element's termination is dropped as Rachedam became Racheham . This change was soon followed with the suffix -ham (homestead) changing to -dale (wide valley). Rachdale is recorded as a name for the town in 1242, but may have been used earlier as a name for the valley, Hundred and Parish. The Domesday Book's rendering of the name led Eilert Ekwall to suggest
11211-476: The victory there obtained, most of the cities in the countries involved in the conflict erected memorials, with the memorials in smaller villages and towns often listing the names of each local soldier who had been killed in addition (so far as the decision by the French and British in 1916 to construct governmentally designed cemeteries was concerned) to their names being recorded on military headstones, often against
11322-423: The war had a profound effect on him and from 1917 onwards he dedicated much of his time to memorialising the casualties. The Stone of Remembrance that he designed in 1917 appears in all large Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) cemeteries and in several of his civic memorials, including Manchester's. His Cenotaph on Whitehall in London became the focus for national Remembrance Sunday commemorations and one of
11433-406: The war. It cost £6,940 and the remaining funds were used to provide hospital beds. In 2014, Manchester City Council dismantled the memorial and reconstructed it at the northeast corner of St Peter's Square next to Manchester Town Hall to make room for the expanded Metrolink tram network. It is a grade II* listed structure and in 2015, Historic England recognised Manchester Cenotaph as part of
11544-799: The will of those directly involved, and without any opportunity of choice in the British Empire (whose war graves were administered by the Imperial War Graves Commission ). Massive British monuments commemorating thousands of dead with no identified war grave , such as the Menin Gate at Ypres and the Thiepval memorial on the Somme, were also constructed. The Liberty Memorial , located in Kansas City, Missouri ,
11655-539: Was described as "a red-brick building of no architectural distinction, on the north side of the river opposite the town hall" and sometimes referred to as the Manor House. It was demolished in 1922. Rochdale is a product of the Industrial Revolution , though the manufacture of woollen cloth, particularly baize , kerseys and flannels , was locally important as far back as the 1500s. At that time
11766-476: Was designated a grade II listed structure on 12 February 1985. Listed status provides legal protection from demolition or modification; grade II is applied to about 92% of listed buildings of "special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them". It was upgraded in 1994 to grade II*, which is reserved for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest" and applies to about 5.5% of listed buildings. In November 2015, as part of commemorations for
11877-759: Was killed was granted a permanent resting-place as part of the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt (1871) . To commemorate the millions who died in World War ;I , war memorials became commonplace in communities large and small around the world. In modern times the main intent of war memorials is not to glorify war, but to honor those who have died. Sometimes, as in the case of the Warsaw Genuflection of Willy Brandt , they may also serve as focal points of increasing understanding between previous enemies. Using modern technology an international project
11988-412: Was largely driven by the global availability of cheaper textile product offerings from abroad. During the 1950s and 1960s Rochdale's lack of a diverse economic base became very apparent, with the closure of numerous textile manufacturing facilities. Textile manufacturing did remain a major contributor to the local economy, even into the 1970s. Regionally, numerous companies still have some connection to
12099-589: Was led by the Dean of Manchester , the Very Reverend Gough McCormick , and the Baptist minister Reverend John Edward Roberts of Union Chapel on Oxford Road. Several dignitaries gave speeches including the lord mayor and Lord Derby, who remarked that the memorial was not only a tribute to the dead but a warning as to the cost of war. After the unveiling, a procession of women laid flowers around
12210-544: Was removed during the Second World War . In 1949, the dates for World War II were added as inscriptions on the obelisks, and the surrounding area was laid out as a garden of remembrance designed by the city architect, L. C. Howitt . The steps and lawns of the garden of remembrance provided space for the Italian memorial plaque to be restored; and over subsequent years, further plaques were added later to commemorate
12321-555: Was unveiled on 12 July 1924 by Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby . Derby's family had been involved in politics for generations, and he had held various public offices during the war including Secretary of State for War . He was assisted by Mrs Bingle, a local woman from Rylance Street, Ancoats , who lost three sons in the war. Two years earlier, Lord Derby had unveiled Lutyens' Rochdale Cenotaph , 10 miles (16 km) away. Mrs Bingle represented "the mothers and wives of Manchester who had made sacrifices greater than life itself". She wore
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