Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project

TORPEDO Photograph

Region ID

MR

Work ID

103

Manual Reference

MR/BUR04

Type

Other

Title

TORPEDO

Date of design

Year of unveiling

1997

Unveiling details

April 1997

Road

Manchester Road

Precise Location

Whitehead Gardens, junction of Manchester Road and Knowsley Street

A to Z Ref

p.140 E1

OS Ref

SD804102

Postcode

Work is

Extant

Listing Status

Not listed

Duty of Care

Bury MBC

Commissioned by

East Lancs Coastal Forces Veterans Association

Notes

torpedo surmounting granite block

Torpedo raised as a tribute to Coastal Forces Veterans. A MINOR WORK. DO NOT INCLUDE IN MAIN ENTRIES.

The invention of the self-propelled torpedo has been claimed or associated with a number of inventors including Robert Whitehead (b. 3 January 1823-1905) . In 1867 he improved on the ideas of an Austrian navy captain, FIGGIS to produce an effective weapon. Following on further improvements in the speed and distance covered by the weapon, it was to revolutionise naval warfare in the following century.

circa

raw year

1997

Condition

Good

At risk

No known risk

Inscriptions

A TRIBUTE TO ROBERT WHITEHEAD (1823-1905) A MEMBER OF THE WHITEHEAD FAMILY OF BURY HE INVENTED THE TORPEDO. HIS DAUGHTER AGATHA VON TRAPP WAS THE GRANDMOTHER OF THE CHILDREN WHOSE ESCAPADES WERE FEATURED IN THE FILM ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’.

Signatures

none visible

Elements

Element Details

Part of work

Material

Dimensions

Torpedo

Steel

180cm long

Assessment of Condition

Surface Character: nothing recorded

Structural Condition: nothing recorded

Vandalism: nothing recorded