- Type of Memorial
- Composite
- WMR Reference Number
- 1228
- Description
- Over £30,000 was raised in Southport to commemorate the Great War in three ways: the erection of this monument; the building of a new outpatients' block at Southport Infirmary (WMR 87882); and the provision of some educational grants for children of the fallen.
The Monument is an extremely complex memorial executed in Portland stone. There is an obelisk on an island in the centre of the Square, flanked by two colonnades in Greek Classical style. Each colonnade has a small, open cenotaph at each end, on the walls of which, and on the sides of a Classical round altar at the centre of each, are carved the names of the fallen of the Great War. There are numerous inscriptions and carvings on the obelisk and inside and outside the colonnades (see images).
Following WW2 the memorial was extended to the East and West by the laying out of gardens with a rectangular fountains. At the end of each fountain pool there is a low wall with a lion's head fountain at its centre, and the dates of the conflict in Roman numerals to each side. Names for WW2 and later conflicts are carved on additional panels added to the inside of the colonnade.
In the garden to the East of the Monument are set eleven small tablets bearing a range of commemorations. These are listed individually: WMR 21763, 62448, 62484, 87861, 87862, 87863, 87864, 87865, 87866, 87867, and 87868.
On the pavement to the North of the obelisk are set tablets commemorating the town's two VC recipients.
- Inscription
- The Monument is aligned West of North. For simplicity, the following description of the inscriptions treats it as facing North.
The inscriptions on the obelisk: North face: Look/ upward/ standing/ mute/ salute/ MCMXIV - MCMXVIII; South face: (Southport coat of arms) Salus Populi
The following inscription was added to the West face in 1956, but has been erased (perhaps in 1992 when the WW2 names were inscribed within the colonnades): To the/ men and women/ of this County Borough/ who gave their lives/ for/ the liberty of the world/ the security of this realm/ in the World War/ 1939 - 1945/ Their names are recorded in/ the Book of Remembrance/ which lies nearby in the keeping of Christ Church/ The fountains added to the memorial pools are dedicated to their memory
In front of the North face of the obelisk two tablets recording the award of the Victoria Cross have been set in the pavement.
On the friezes of the colonnades: West face of East colonnade, and East face of West colonnade: Tell Britain ye who mark this monument/ Faithful to her we fell and rest content
West face of West colonnade: To famous men all Earth is sepulchre
East face of East colonnade: Their portion is with the eternal
South face of West colonnade: Remember/ that the men/ whose names/ live on these walls/ died/ in youth or prime/ that future generations/ might inherit/ a happier world/ and a human society/ more righteous/ and more loving/ than these brave men/ and their generation knew
South face of East colonnade: They died/ that we might live/ We live only as we/ safeguard the ideals/ for which they died/ Freedom Justice Mercy/ So let us live/ that we may share/ with them the life/ eternal
North face of East and West colonnades: MCMXIV/ MCMXVIII
In the cenotaphs at the ends of the inside of the colonnades:
North cenotaph, West colonnade: All that they had they gave/ Aisne/ Somme/ Marne/ Foret de Morvel/ Mons/ Arras/ (Names). Also on the pedestal altar within: Death and the Soldier
South cenotaph, West colonnade: Their name liveth/ Messines Ridge/ Paschendaele/ Neuve Chappelle/ Loos/ Festubert/ Ypres/ (Names)
North cenotaph, East colonnade: For the sacred cause of justice/ Cambria/ Le Cateau/ R. Selle/ Hindenburg Line/ Salonika/ Vimy Ridge/(Names). Also on the pedestal altar within: Patroclus and Achilles
South cenotaph, East colonnade: On the deck of fame they died/ Falkland (sic)/ Palestine/ Zeebrugge/ Jutland/ Mesopotamia/ Gallipoli/
WW2 names were added in 1992, but the dates of the war are not displayed by them - they are inscribed in Roman numerals on the parapets of the ponds in the adjacent gardens, each side of a lion's head fountain: MCMXXXIX - MCMXXXXV
At the bottom of one of the WW2 panels in the East colonnade more recent conflicts are commemorated:Aden/ (Name)/ Cyprus/ (Name)/ 2003: Iraq/ (Name)/ Afghanistan/ (Names)
Around the perimeter of the gardens to the East and West of the colonnades are small brass plaques mounted on stone, with an enamelled inscription: This garden, including the/ fountain and pool, is part of/ the War Memorial to the/ memory of those citizens of/ Southport who fell in the/ wars 1914-18 and 1939-45./ Please treat it with respect.