War Memorials News
How will we remember them? 2nd October 2018
How will we continue to remember beyond 2018?
Did you know that at the start of the Centenary commemoration less than 5,000 war memorials had a condition survey recorded on War Memorials Online? Yet today, that figure now stands at over 30,000 condition surveys thanks, in part, to the volunteer army of individuals who have been travelling the country recording local war memorials. With less than five weeks to go before we mark the centenary of the Armistice, we want you to give it one final push. Although Civic Voice will be delivering no more workshops, you can continue to use the Civic Voice online toolkit here that walks you through all the steps you need to take to record the condition of a local war memorial.
Will you remain engaged with war memorial volunteering after the centenary ends? We hope so. If you want to continue making a contribution to preserving our unique, shared war memorial heritage then please keep adding information to War Memorials Online, www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk. If you want to volunteer with another activity in the historic environment, why not try recording the condition of your local conservation area as part of http://www.bigconservationconversation.com campaign.
Approaches to war memorial conservation around the First World War Centenary
At the end of the centenary commemorations of the First World War, this one day conference aims to reflect on current approaches to war memorial conservation practice and look to their future care. This conference is intended for anyone interested in or responsible for the care of war memorials. This might include parish, local and district councils, conservation professionals, contractors, statutory bodies, volunteer groups or private owners. The conference will discuss current best practice on the understanding, assessment, planning and implementation of conservation work to memorials as well as their ongoing maintenance and protection. It will also outline the legal frameworks and statutory duties that relate to their ownership and care.
Date: Thursday, 15th November 2018 at 9.30am
Venue: Fazeley Studios, Birmingham
Icon Members: £60.00
Non Members: £75.00
Icon Student members: £30.00
Students (non Icon members): £40.00
There are a limited number of places available and we encourage people to register as soon as possible on Eventbrite.
If you are unable to attend this conference, you might be interested in the advice Historic England has made available through videos, publications and case studies. Access all you need to know about conserving war memorials here.
Garry Sheffield talk; "How and why the First World War came to an end?"
© Professor Gary Sheffield
War Memorials Trust is delighted to announce that Professor Gary Sheffield will be giving a talk in support of the charity on Monday 8th October 2018 from 6.15pm to 7.45pm. It will take place after the Trust's AGM at the church of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in the City of London.
Professor Sheffield is an internationally-recognised expert in World War I. He is Professor of War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton and co-Director of the First World War Research Group. His books include, 'Forgotten Victory: The First World War – Myths and Realities'; 'The Somme: A New History'; and 'Command and Morale: The British Army on the Western Front'.
His talk, entitled 'How and why the First World War came to an end?', will examine the role of the British and other armies in defeating the Germans on the Western Front, paying particular attention to the role of new technologies and evolving doctrine, as well as the war at sea; the resilience and otherwise of home fronts; and the role of politics and revolution.
After Professor Sheffield's talk there will be a drinks reception and a book signing. Readers of War Memorials News are welcome to attend the event. Tickets for War Memorials Trust members are £10 and tickets for non-members are £25 which include a year's membership of the charity. To book your tickets please call War Memorials Trust on 020 7834 0200.
BELLS TO RING OUT AND 10,000 TO MARCH PAST THE CENOTAPH AS THE NATION SAYS 'THANK YOU'
Ten thousand members of the public will be invited to march past the Cenotaph to mark the centenary of the Armistice later this year, Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright announced recently.
Descendants, family members and the public are invited to apply to take part in 'A Nation's Thank you – The People's Procession' on Sunday 11 November 2018.
At the same time, people are being encouraged to ring bells around the world, as the government is seeking to replicate the spontaneous outpouring of relief that took place in 1918. As news of the Armistice spread, church bells, which had fallen silent across the UK during the First World War, rang out in celebration.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said: "On the centenary of the Armistice, it is right that we come together to give thanks to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and those who returned home to help shape the world we live in today. The 11th of November offers us a unique opportunity to show our appreciation for the generation who gave so much to secure this hard fought victory. I encourage everyone, whatever their connection to the First World War, to apply to participate in the People's Procession and join in with the bell ringing programme to help us mark this historic occasion."
Bell ringing and the People's Procession will take place after the conclusion of The Royal British Legion's Veteran Dispersal and March Past the Cenotaph, which follows the National Service of Remembrance on 11 November 2018, the centenary of the end of the First World War.
The People's Procession will provide an opportunity for those taking part to give thanks to all those who served in the First World War to secure the victory that helped shape the rights and privileges we enjoy today.
Members of the public can apply for the People's Procession here: https://armistice100.org.uk./
Contributing to War Memorials Online
With Remembrance Sunday next month, many events are being planned across the country to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918. The focal point of many of these events will, of course, be our country's war memorials. If you are planning to attend a service this November, why not check the condition of your war memorial and take some photographs at the same time?
War Memorials Trust is keen to build on our understanding of the condition of war memorials across the UK beyond the centenary. We want to ensure we direct our resources to war memorials in need, especially as our one-off funding from the government has now come to an end. War Memorials Trust will continue our role as a conservation charity which gives grants, and to do so we will need your help. The Trust relies heavily on our volunteers, War Memorials Online Contributors and members of the public, who kindly help us to monitor the condition of war memorials all over the country- a task which would be impossible without your support, which we are most grateful for.
Please help us to monitor the condition of war memorials by visiting your local war memorial, taking photos, looking at its condition (is it in Good, Fair, Poor or Very bad condition?) and adding this information to War Memorials Online. This allows us to support war memorial custodians and communities protect and conserve their war memorials not only during the centenary period but beyond.
We would be very grateful if you could continue to add your photos and condition updates to War Memorials Online. War Memorials Online is an ongoing volunteering activity which has a tangible positive impact- together we are creating a comprehensive record of the condition of war memorials in the UK. It is not only an invaluable tool for War Memorials Trust, but it also assists war memorial custodians manage the maintenance of their war memorials and proves a fascinating, accessible wealth of information for members of the public interested in war memorials. Thank you for all your contributions to date- all your help is very much appreciated.
If you would like any further information about how to get involved, please do not hesitate to contact Brogan on brogan@warmemorials.org or 07421 994656.
War Memorials Trust membership available to readers of War Memorials News
Crich Stand which was awarded funding in 2016
As readers of War Memorials News will be aware War Memorials Trust is a charity which works to protect and conserve the UK's estimated 100,000 war memorials. War Memorials Trust provides free advice to anyone with a war memorial enquiry and offers grants for repair and conservation works. It also educates young people about the importance of war memorials so that they can continue the work to care for them in the future.
In the last 21 years the charity has administered £5 million in grants to support 1,600 war memorial projects, dealt with more than 11,000 war memorial cases and reached 8,000 young people through its Learning Programme.
However, we still have a long way to go. We believe that up to 8,000 war memorials in the UK are in need of attention, suffering the effects of ageing, weathering and vandalism.
Members make a vital contribution to the charity. It is a way for people who share our passion to support this unique aspect of our heritage. Together we can demonstrate the strength of national commitment to protect our war memorials. As a charity War Memorials Trust is dependent on contributions from members and donors to continue its work so we need to find more people to join us.
Please become a War Memorials Trust member today and together we can ensure that those commemorated on our war memorials are not forgotten. To join please visit: www.warmemorials.org/join or call 020 7834 0200.
Civic Voice toolkit to continue to support communities in future years
To help you, Civic Voice has created a tool kit to guide you through the process of assessing and recording the condition of a war memorial. Your survey will help to:
Identify whether the memorial is in good condition or whether it needs any repairs/conservation
Create a record that can be held locally, on the War Memorials Register and War Memorials Online.
Kick-start any action that's needed to ensure the future of your local memorial.
The tool kit includes three short videos and several help sheets to tell you more about the programme and how to carry out your survey(s). To get started, click here.
We hope that all those involved in the First World War Memorials Programme will commit to continuing their war memorial volunteering by monitoring the condition of war memorials and updating War Memorials Online. An annual update, even if it says 'still wonderfully kept' demonstrates that people are visiting, monitoring and recognising the excellent job done by so many custodians of the 100,000 war memorials across the UK.
If you would like any information on contributing to War Memorials Online please do not hesitate to contact Brogan on brogan@warmemorials.org or 07421 994656.
Grants Showcase - St Michaels Church Clock Tower
Town or City: Liverpool
County: Merseyside
WMT Reference Number: WM6936alue of grant: £1250.00
Type of memorial: Non-Freestanding
Type of work: Conservation and repair
Grant scheme: Small Grants Scheme
UKNIWM reference number: 15841
This memorial consists of a church clock tower located in St Michael in the Hamlet Church, Aigburth, Liverpool. The memorial also includes a plaque of dedication to the men of the Parish who died whilst fighting in World War I.
In 2013 War Memorials Trust offered a grant of £1,250 towards repairs to the clock, which had stopped working. The strike motor and gear box were dismantled and returned to the workshop where a new motor was fitted to quarter train the gearbox. Both motors were then re-installed. The centre of the bevel gearing was dismantled, cleaned and lubricated and then fixed back into position. All of the dial motion works were serviced to ensure that they were free running and all connecting rods were straightened and the clock dial movement was aligned.
The memorial clock was dedicated in December 1919, along with a stained glass memorial window and two memorial tablets within the church. The clock tower was damaged during the Second World War and repairs took place in the mid 1950's through funding from the Church Wardens of the time, Doris and Arthur Lenmans.
The inscription on the plaque reads:
The clock in the tower of this church and the window and tablets in the porch are the gift of the parishioners of St Michaels in memory of the 148 men of the Parish who fell in the Great War 1914-1918.
The larger tablet includes the names of the men who were killed and is categorised by rank.
War Memorials Trust reference WM6936
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 15841
War Memorials Online: 108043
War Memorials Condition Survey Toolkit
If you can't attend a workshop, Civic Voice has created a toolkit to allow you to learn how to survey the condition of your war memorials. The toolkit takes you through each step and also provides you with all the resources you need to complete a condition survey. See the toolkit here. Condition Survey Forms are now available to download on Civic Voice's website, so you can get involved as soon as possible! Click here to download a Condition Survey. Click here to download the cover sheet for the survey.
War Memorial workshops in your area!
Come to a workshop to discuss the best way to tackle this war memorials campaign head on and get all the war memorials in your area recorded. Please see up and coming workshops for your area here. If you are interested in attending a workshop please click on the link for your area.
Play your part in protecting war memorials!
Do you want to get involved in giving your local war memorials greater protection from demolition and changes that damage their historic character? You now have a unique opportunity to achieve this. For the first time the public are being asked to research and write entries for the inclusion on the National Heritage List for England, the statutory list of nationally important buildings and monuments. Of the tens of thousands of war memorials in England just 2,000 are currently on The List and we want to change this. If you want to get involved email
info@civicvoice.org.uk
and we will contact you about the training workshops taking place. Don't pass up this opportunity to protect an important part of your local heritage!
Register your war memorial here!
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