Memorial
Peterborough Hospital, WW1 Roll of Honour (original 1921 version)
Current Location
Access to the Roll is possible by making an appointment with the Hospital's Company Secretary., Peterborough City Hospital, Edith Cavell Campus, Bretton Gate, Peterborough, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE3 9GZ, England
OS Grid Reference
TL 16674 99929
Names listed on this memorial
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© WMR-101011
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- Type of Memorial
- Roll of honour or book of remembrance
- WMR Reference Number
- 101011
- Description
- Ribbon-tied WW1 Roll of Honour, in the form of 59 typewritten sheets on which casualties' details are recorded, including a page listing 42 alumni of St Peter's Training College who died. N.B. The Roll is known to include several anomalies, e.g. inaccurate dates/places of death; inadvertent duplications, i.e. men listed under both their true surname and the different surname by which they were known or enlisted; misunderstandings also resulted in some men being listed on the Roll as having died, whereas they had in fact survived. [This Roll of Honour is now 'detached from' its original front cover, on which its dedicatory inscription is written. When the Roll was presented to the Mayor of Peterborough in November 1921, its front cover was an illuminated dedicatory inscription, stating that it lists the names of 1047 casualties; three further names were subsequently added. The Mayor accepted temporary custody of the Roll in 1921, pending a decision re where it should be permanently housed; it was subsequently decided to place it in the Peterborough War Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1928. A wooden casket was therefore made for the Roll of Honour, whose illuminated front page was carefully detached and mounted in the glazed outer panel; the 59 sheets listing the casualties' details were put inside the casket, which was placed in the Hospital's Boardroom. The memorial remained unchanged until 1994, at which time the dedicatory page of the original Roll was left within the casket's glazed panel, but the 59 associated type-written sheets listing casualties' details were removed from the casket, and replaced with a revised version of the Roll of Honour, which had recently been compiled. (Our record WMR 100806 relates to that 1994 version of the Roll of Honour). The original 1921 Roll of names was retained by the Hospital Trust and is now stored alongside, but separate from, the casket].
- Inscription
- The Roll of Honour's former front page (which is in the casket's glazed outer panel) reads: IN SACRED AND LOVING MEMORY OF THE/ 1047 glorious men of PETERBOROUGH who laid down their/ lives in the Great War, 1914-1918, and whose names are recorded/ on this/ ROLL OF HONOUR/ and to whose/ undying fame Memorials have been erected and dedicated at the churches of St John, St Mark,/ St Paul, All Saints, St Augustine, & Barnabas, in the City of Peterborough and at the Parish churches/ of Stanground, Old Fletton, Newark & Werrington. In the Cathedral to the Collegians of St Peter's/ College, & to the Old Boys of King's School. In the Chapels of the United Methodists, at/ Boroughbury & Old Fletton, the Cobden Street Primitive Methodists, the Park Road Baptist/ Church, the Wentworth Street Wesleyans, and the Salvation Army Citadel. In the Deacon's School/ to the Old Boys of the School; outside the Guildhall to the Corporation Employees; outside the/ General Post Office to the Postal Officials, and outside the Head Office of the Co-operative/ Society to the Society's Employees. Main section of the Roll: (58 pages of names) Final page of Roll reads: The following is the record of/ the Collegians who were students before the War at St/ Peter's College, Peterborough who fell in action./ It has not been possible to obtain a complete/ record of their particulars./ (42 names)
- War
- First World War (1914-1918)
- Number Commemorated
- 1049
- Died
- 1049
- Information shown
- Forename/initials, surname, address, service number, rank, military unit, date/place/circumstance of death and place of burial
- Order of names
- Main section of the Roll (re natives/residents) is broadly alphabetical by surname; the supplementary page at the end lists 42 alumni from St Peter's College who died
- Additional Information
- The Roll contains several misspelt names and inadvertent factual errors, e.g. dates/places of death & gallantry awards etc; some casualties are listed twice (under true name and alias); some listed on the Roll as casualties actually survived.
- War
- First World War - civilians
- Number Commemorated
- 1
- Died
- 1
- Information shown
- Name and address
- Order of names
- Listed within the main alphabetical section of the Roll.
- Additional Information
- Nurse Edith Cavell is included on the Roll (by dint of being formerly resident in Peterborough).
- Maker(s)
Mr E. A. Spires, Compiler
- Maintenance History
- November 1921: The Roll was presented to the Mayor of Peterborough, for safekeeping until a suitable site for it could be decided; it was subsequently decided to place it in the newly-built Peterborough War Memorial Hospital (which opened in 1928, as the City's prime memorial to its citizens who had died in WW1). A wooden casket was custom-made to contain the Roll of Honour, the front page of which (bearing the dedicatory inscription) was placed in the casket's glazed outer panel. The casket was installed in the Hospital's Boardroom, and in the ensuing years was placed on display in the Hospital's Chapel each November. In 1994, the original Roll of Honour's 59 pages, listing names details, were removed from the casket, and replaced with a recently-completed revised version of it. The front page of the original 1921 Roll (bearing its dedicatory inscription) was left in the casket's glazed panel; the rest of its pages were placed inside an envelope, and retained. Following the closure of the former hospital site in 2010, the casket and the original 1921 Roll of Honour were placed in temporary storage; they were later relocated to the Peterborough City Hospital at Bretton Gate.
Ceremonies
Presented
11 November 1921
The completed Roll was presented to the Mayor of Peterborough, for safekeeping until a suitable permanent site for it could be established.
Previous Location(s)
Originally placed in the Boardroom, War Memorial Hospital (later the Memorial Wing of Peterborough District Hospital), Midland Road, Peterborough, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE3 6DD, England
- Custodian
- North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Components
- Roll of honour
Made from: Paper
Condition: Poor
- This Roll of Honour is mentioned (regarding its inclusion of Sidney Green of Fletton Avenue) on our following Blog ukniwm.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/memorials-to-the-missing-of-fromelles/?msclkid=dadf33ceb49711ecb7a24bb16345d7a5
- On Saturday 19/11/1921 the Peterborough Standard reported on the Armistice Day commemoration that had been held in the Market Square on 11th November, during which the WW1 Roll of Honour was ceremonially presented to the Mayor. After details re the Remembrance service and wreath-laying, the report continued: 'Then Mr. E. A. Spires stepped forward. He has been at work for some months on the compilation of the City Roll of Honour. With this beautifully bound and exquisitely illuminated album in his hands, he stood in front of the Mayor and asked him to accept it as a record of the city's fallen. The Mayor formally accepted the roll, and on behalf of the Mayor and Corporation promised to preserve it. It would be placed, he said, in safe custody until they had considered a suitable place for its keeping. The Mayor then read the inscription on the roll, which contained the names of 1,047 Peterborough lads who fell. It was as follows:— In sacred and loving memory of the 1,047 glorious men of Peterborough who laid down their lives in the Great War, 1914-1918, and whose names are recorded on this ROLL OF HONOUR, and to whose undying fame memorials have been erected and dedicated at the Churches of St John, St Mark, St Paul, All Saints', St Augustine, and St Barnabas, in the city of Peterborough, and at the Parish Churches of Stanground, Old Fletton, Newark and Werrington. In the Cathedral to the Collegians of St Peter's College, and to the Old Boys of King's School; in the Chapels of the United Methodists at Boroughbury and Old Fletton, the Cobden-Street Primitive Methodists, the Park-road Baptist Church, the Wentworth-street Wesleyans, and the Salvation Army Citadel. In the Deacon's School, to the Old Boys of the School; outside the Guildhall to the Corporation Employees, outside the General Post Office to the Postal officials, and outside the Head Office of the Co-operative Society to the Society's employees. Then follows the names in alphabetic order, typewritten, with regimental particulars and the date and place of death. The National Anthem was then sung, and the proceedings ended'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003301/19211119/105/0008
- On Saturday 21/2/1920 the Peterborough Standard's reported on a public meeting that had been held at the Hippodrome on Sunday 15th February, during which the following mention was made of the City's commemoration of its war casualties: 'PETERBOROUGH'S ROLL OF HONOUR. Mr. Spires, in seconding the vote of thanks, outlined his scheme for preparing Peterborough's roll of honour, a compilation which would contain, as far as lay in his power, and that of these who were going to assist him, the names of every man and woman from Peterborough who had paid the supreme sacrifice. The ex-Service men had answered his call for help and had told him they would do everything they could, and leave no stone unturned until the record was complete. He was very busy with the work at present, but at a later date a meeting of citizens would be convened for them to decide as to what form the roll of honour should take. Many suggestions had reached him already. but it was too early yet to decide on the exact form. There was one thing, however, and that was that many would have a shock when they knew how many had fallen. He was hoping to have an office in the centre of town, where the names would be shown. He concluded by saying that he did not want an incomplete record, and inviting all to assist him in gathering the details'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003301/19200221/071/0006