Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
CROMPTON WAR MEMORIAL Photograph
Region ID | MR | |
Work ID | 5 | |
Manual Reference | MR/OLD06 | |
Type | War Memorial, World War I | |
Title | CROMPTON WAR MEMORIAL | |
Sculptor | Goulden, Richard Reginald | |
Date of design | 1919-23 | |
Year of unveiling | 1923 | |
Unveiling details | 29 April 1923 | |
Road | High Street | |
Precise Location | Off High Street in front of Town Hall | |
A to Z Ref | ||
OS Ref | ||
Postcode | ||
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | Don't know | |
Duty of Care | Oldham MBC | |
Commissioned by | Crompton War Memorial Committee | |
Notes | ||
Bronze group in which the central figure is a man defending the future generations represented by young children.… | ||
The Memorial Committee considered that depictions of soldiers, incidents of battle and "engines of war" failed to fully convey the "splendid effort and self-sacrifice" of the men of Crompton, who, "to prevent the will of a great and aggressive nation being brutally forced upon us, gave themselves and all they had to save us, and to open up the way for the march forward, in brotherly love, of the future generations." (1) Hence the symbolic character of the memorial which depicts this safeguarding of the way forward for the young. The memorial itself cost 4,000 st but the landscaping of the site raised the totoal cosst to 6, 067 st. It was unveiled on 29th April 1923 by General Sir Ian Hamilton. A lead casket had ben placed inside the monument, containing in addition to the usual coins and a copy of the local newspaper, three cops of spun cotton and a length of cloth manufactured in the district. The unveiling was attended by the chairman of the district council, a Mrs Hopley, three of whose eight sons had been killed, and Mr Ormerod representing disable servicemen. Panels listing the roll of honour from WWII were unveiled on 12th November 1950.(2) | ||
Men of Crompton who fell in WWI. The rolls of honour list 346 men. | ||
circa | ||
raw year | 1923 | |
Condition | Good | |
At risk | Don't know | |
Inscriptions | IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF CROMPTON WHO FOUGHT AND GAVE THEIR LIVES TO FREE MANKIND FROM THE OPPRESSION AND BRUTAL TYRANNY OF WAR,. 1914-1919. | |
Signatures | none visible | |
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
Statuary | Bronze | |
Plinth | Scottish granite | |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character
Detail | Comment |
|---|---|
No damage | |
Structural Condition
Structural Condition | Comment |
|---|---|
None | |
Vandalism
Vandalism | Comment |
|---|---|
None | |
