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Cenotaph with horizontal abutments in form of sarcophagus to either side. Statue of Peace on pedestal in front of cenotaph with bowed head and holding laurel wreath.

At a public meeting on 25 March 1919 a public war memorial scheme was proposed. On 9th April a committee was appointed which was made up of the Mayor (Joseph Nuttall) and some of the Chairmen of the various Corporation Committees. The memorial was intended to stand for "the spirit of heroism, the spirit of self sacrifice, the spirit of all that is noble and great that was exemplified in the lives of those men of Heywood sacrificed in the Great War."(1) It was unveiled by Hewlett Johnson, the Dean of Manchester on 22 August 1925 who spoke less of heroism and more of the "wastage of war-wastage of human life, our sons, the sons of our Allies, the sons of our enemies...the wastage of treasure [and] the wastage of civilisation, which we are feeling today in our unemployment." He called for an effort to maintain the peace comparable to that which had prosecuted the war, an effort which would surely end all war. He suggested that the pursuance of peace required a fundamental reordering of values in which instead of property and jewels, great spiritual qualities such as art, science, literature, music, fellowship and brotherhood, "things that can be shared without domination" should be held in the highest esteem. Only in this way could war be avoided.(2) The bronze figure of Peace was sculpted by Walter Marsden who also completed the statuary on Bolton War Memorial. The inaugural procession included a wreath-laying by the children, widows and relatives of the fallen. The roll of honour was not engraved on the memorial at the time because the Trust fund established to cover the costs only contained enough money for maintenance of the site. Lobbying by the Heywood British Legion secured a grant from Rochdale Council to cover the 5,000 st cost, and the names from both world wars began to be engraved on the monument in July 1986.(3)

Men of Heywood who fell in WWI.

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At risk

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Signatures

Statue

Bronze

274cm high

Cenotaph

Portland stone

701cm high x 914cm wide x 350cm deep

None