Great Crosby and Blundellsands War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1923, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Great Crosby and Blundellsands War Memorial, which stands in Alexandra Park, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: an imposing war memorial drawing on the Classical style, incorporating an unusual electrical light.

History

Great Crosby and Blundellsands War Memorial was designed by Joseph Watson Cabré and unveiled by Lord Stanley, seventeenth Earl of Derby on 11 November 1923. It was dedicated by the Bishop of Liverpool. The memorial commemorates 522 local men who served in the First World War, of whom 261 died. The names of a further 512 men who served in the Second World War were added later; of these, 256 had died.

Originally the memorial was topped by a ‘Lamp of Memory’, an electric light in the form of an eternal flame intended to be lit every night between sunset and dawn. This has been replaced with a new, spherical, glass lamp.

In 2013 a project was undertaken to improve the legibility of the inscriptions with the help of grant aid from War Memorials Trust. The conserved memorial was unveiled by Lord Stanley, nineteenth Earl of Derby.

J W Cabré (b1884) was educated at the School of Architecture, University of Liverpool and articled to Willink and Thicknesse from 1902 to 1904, where he was Chief Assistant until the completion of the Cunard Building in 1916. He won the competition to design the Great Crosby and Blundellsands War Memorial and much of his other work is also to be found in this area of Liverpool, including churches, mission halls, housing schemes and private housing. He was also responsible for the roof over the Kop at Anfield football stadium, opened on 25 August 1928.

Details

MATERIALS: Hopton Wood stone, with a metal and glass light.

DESCRIPTION: Great Crosby and Blundellsands War Memorial is located in the Garden of Remembrance in Alexandra Park, on Coronation Road. The memorial, c 5m tall, is formed of a broad, corniced, obelisk raised on a base and surmounted by a basin and electric lamp. It is approached by flagstone paths lined with brick borders including short flights of three steps to the front, rear and sides.

At the top of the obelisk the lamp rises from a stilted basin. Running around the foot-ring of the basin is an inscription which reads THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVER MORE. The ornamented feet of the four stilts stand on a two-stage capstone, the lower stage of which is ornamented with centrally-placed palmettes.

A carved Greek key band faces the cornice and the obelisk, square on plan, has rosettes at each corner of each face. The principal dedicatory inscription on the front face of the obelisk, in leaded letters, reads TO THE MEMORY/ OF/ OUR/ GLORIOUS/ DEAD/ PRO PATRIA 1914 – 1918. Commemorated names are listed on the other three faces. The front face of the square base is ornamented with fasces and a shield, carved in low relief, with below AND THOSE WHO FOLLOWED/ 1939 – 1945. The base stands on a polygonal step.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 27 January 2017.

Sources

Books and journals
Who's Who in Architecture, (1926), 55-6

Websites
Merseyside Roll of Honour, accessed 19/04/2016 from http://www.merseysiderollofhonour.co.uk/memorials/southsefton/crosbyandblundellsandscivic.htm
War Memorials Register, accessed 27 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/53256
War Memorials Online, accessed 27 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/135968

Other
The Herald, 17 November 1923

End of official list entry

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