Lancashire Fusiliers War Memorial

Lancashire Fusiliers War Memorial
United Kingdom
For men of the Lancashire Fusiliers killed in the First World War
Unveiled 25 April 1922
Location 53°35′32″N 2°17′55″W / 53.592234°N 2.298722°W / 53.592234; -2.298722Coordinates: 53°35′32″N 2°17′55″W / 53.592234°N 2.298722°W / 53.592234; -2.298722
Gallipoli Gardens, Bury, Greater Manchester
Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name War Memorial to the Lancashire Fusiliers, Gallipoli Gardens
Designated 2 September 1992
Reference no. 1250814

The Lancashire Fusiliers War Memorial is a First World War memorial dedicated to members of the Lancashire Fusiliers, located in Gallipoli Gardens in Bury, Greater Manchester (historically in Lancashire), in north-west England. Unveiled on 25 April 1922, the memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and is now a grade II* listed building.[1]

Background

In the aftermath of the First World War and its unprecedented casualties, thousands of war memorials were built across Britain. Amongst the most prominent designers of memorials was the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, described by Historic England as "the leading English architect of his generation". Lutyens designed the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, which became the focus for the national Remembrance Sunday commemorations, as well as the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing—the largest British war memorial anywhere in the world—and the Stone of Remembrance which appears in all large Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries and in several of Lutyens' civic war memorials. As well as civic memorials, Lutyens designed multiple war memorials for private companies and individual regiments; he also designed Rochdale Cenotaph, some seven miles away.[1][2]

The Lancashire Fusiliers lost 13,642 men during the First World War, particularly during the Gallipoli Campaign; the regiment participate in the landing at Cape Helles during which its members famously earned "six Victoria Crosses before breakfast". Lutyens was chosen as the architect for the memorial due to his family connection to the Lancashire Fusiliers—his father and great uncle had both fought in the regiment—and he gave his services pro bono.[1]

Design

The memorial was built by John Tinline of Bury, a local stonemason. It consists of a single tall, tapering obelisk in Portland stone standing on a square base with a cornice where the two parts meet. Below the base is a carved frieze which sits on a pedestal of two rectangular blocks. The whole structure rests on a rectangular plinth and at the very bottom are two shallow circular steps. On the front and rear of the obelisk are carvings of the Lancashire Fusiliers' cap badge and the inscription "XX" in gilded lettering, surrounded by a caved laurel wreath. On the front, below the wreath, the regiment's motto, "OMNIA AUDAX", is inscribed. To either side are carved, painted flags: the King's Colour to the north (left when the memorial is viewed from the front) and the colour of 1st Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers to the south (right). The obelisk itself is four metres (13 feet) tall and the whole memorial is 6.9 metres (22.5 ft) tall.[1][3][4]

The remaining inscription are all to the lower part of the structure. The dates of the First World War are carved just below the obelisk, and the dedication "TO THE LANCASHIRE FUSILIERS THEIR DEEDS AND SACRIFICES FOR KING AND COUNTRY" on the upper part of the pedestal. Below those, on the lower part of the pedestal and on the plinth, are later inscriptions: the dates of the Second World War and the further dedication "AND ALL FUSILIERS WHO DIED IN SUBSEQUENT CAMPAIGNS".[1] According to architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner, the memorial is one of the few beautiful public artefacts in an otherwise "drab" group of towns.[2][4]

History

The memorial was unveiled by Lieutenant General Sir Henry de Beauvoir De Lisle—commander-in-chief Western Command, who commanded part of the Gallipoli Campaign—on the seventh anniversary of the Cape Helles landing, 25 April 1922.[1][5] In addition to the memorial itself, spare funds were spent on drums and bugles for the regiment and donated to the fusiliers' compassionate fund out of a desire that the living also benefit from the funds.[6]

The Lancashire Fusiliers were amalgamated with other fusilier regiments into the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 1968 and the memorial was adopted by the new regiment to commemorate all fusiliers killed in the line of duty. It was originally sited outside the regimental headquarters at Wellington Barracks, but the barracks closed with the amalgamation and were mostly demolished in the 1970s. In 2009, Sparrow Park was redeveloped as Gallipoli Gardens and the Fusilier Museum moved there from the former regimental headquarters; the war memorial was dismantled and repaired before being re-installed next to the museum.[1]

The Lancashire Fusiliers memorial was designated a grade II listed building on 2 September 1992. In March 2015, as part of commemorations for the centenary of the First World War, Lutyens' war memorials were recognised as a "national collection" and all of his free-standing memorials in England were listed or had their listing status reviewed and their National Heritage List for England list entries were updated and expanded. As part of this process, the Lancashire Fusiliers memorial was upgraded to grade II* listed building status.[7]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lancashire Fusiliers' memorial, Bury.

Other Lutyens memorials for individual regiments or units:

Other related articles:

References

Bibliography

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Historic England. "War Memorial to the Lancashire Fusiliers, Gallipoli Gardens (1250814)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 Pevsner, p. 86.
  3. ↑ Borg, p. 88.
  4. 1 2 Wyke & Cocks, p. 239.
  5. ↑ Quinlan, p. 45.
  6. ↑ Skelton, p. 89.
  7. ↑ "National Collection of Lutyens' War Memorials Listed". Historic England. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
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