Memorial

Peterborough Corporation Employees (Lost)

Peterborough Corporation Employees' WW1 Memorial

Source: Copyright Anonymous

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Names listed on this memorial

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Memorial Details

Type of Memorial: Board / Plaque / Tablet
WMR Reference Number: 73685
Description: Pedimented marble Memorial, inscribed with black lettering.
Inscription: THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED/ BY THE CORPORATION EMPLOYEES,/ IN MEMORY OF THEIR FELLOW WORKERS/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1918./ SURVEYORS DEPT./ KILLED/ (3 names)/ DIED OF WOUNDS/ (1 name)/ FARM DEPT./ KILLED/ (5 names)/ WATERWORKS DEPT./ KILLED/ (1 name).

Commemoration

War: First World War (1914-1918)
Number Commemorated: 10
Died: 10
Information shown: Corporation Department in which they had formerly worked; surname; initial; Regiment; date of death.
Order of names: Alphabetically by surname beneath the heading of the Corporation Department in which they had formerly worked.
Additional Information: The dates of death and initial/forename recorded for some of those named on the War Memorial do not all tally with the information recorded for them in CWGC's Casualty database.

History

Maker(s): UNKNOWN
Costs: n/a
Sponsor Type: private
Sponsored By: According to the report of its unveiling that was published in the Peterborough Standard on 11/9/1920, the Memorial was paid for by members of the Peterborough Branch of the National Union of Corporation Workers.
Additional Cost/Sponsorship Information: The cost of the Memorial itself is unknown.
Maintenance History: The Memorial has apparently not been seen since the building on which it was mounted was demolished in July and August 1964.

Ceremonies

Unveiled

5/9/1920

The Mayor and Corporation, the Mayor's Chaplain, the Fire Brigade, various dignitaries. (The Mayoress Mrs W Riseley unveiled the Memorial; a laurel wreath was laid by J. Clark, brother of one of the casualties)

Dedicated

5/9/1920

Dedicated by the Mayor's Chaplain: Canon Morse.

Conservation

Custodian: Was formerly the Peterborough Corporation

Components

Tablet

Height: c1000mm

Width: c500mm

Depth: c50mm

Made from: Marble - Carrara

Further Information

The Peterborough Standard and the Peterborough Advertiser, both published on 11/9/1920, re the unveiling of the Corporation's War Memorial on 5/9/1920. (The Advertiser's report was brief, but did include a photograph of the ceremony; the Standard's report did not include a photograph but gave a comprehensive account of the ceremony, including such details as who unveiled/dedicated the Memorial and who else was present, as well as mentioning that the marble Memorial had black lettering, and had been commissioned by the Peterborough Branch of the National Union of Corporation Workers).
www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/blog/town-clerks-office-demolition-1950s/ (This photograph is of the demolition of the former Town Clerk's Office. It proves that, by the time the roof and upper storey had been demolished, the Corporation Employees' War Memorial was still in situ on the ground-floor wall. N.B. although the photograph's caption implies that it was taken in the 1950s, reports printed in the Peterborough Standard prove that the demolition of the building in fact took place during the months of July/August 1964).
www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/blog/guildhall-1920s/ (This photo was taken on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales to Peterborough in 1929, during which he laid the foundation stone of the new Town Hall being built in Bridge Street. In the photo, the Corporation Employees' War Memorial is visible, flanked by Union Flags and with a wreath above it).
www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/blog/church-street-2/ (This photo, which reportedly dates from the 1940s/1950s, is of the former Town Clerk's Office adjoining the Guildhall. In it, the Corporation Employees' War Memorial is visible).
Articles published in the Peterborough Standard on 10/7/1964 and 14/8/1964 both referred to the demolition that was underway of the building on which the Corporation's War Memorial was mounted. (The articles did not actually mention the Memorial itself, which is known to have still been in situ, i.e. there was no mention of any plan/proposal to remove the Memorial and relocate it elsewhere).
www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/environment/well-well-well-what-have-we-found-here-then-1-154175 (This online article refers to the demolition of the former Town Clerk's Office in July 1964, in the process of which an old well had been discovered under the Guildhall, While this article did not mention the War Memorial itself, it is further evidence re the date of demolition of the building on which it was mounted).