Memorial details

Memorial type
Cenotaph
District
Wigan
Town
Leigh
County
Greater Manchester
Country
England
Commemoration
First World War (1914-1918), Second World War (1939-1945), Yugoslav Wars (1991-1999)
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: 1st November 1922
    Attended by: LT GEN SIR BEAUVOIR DE LISLE KCB KCMG DSO
  • Rededicated
    Date: 20th May 1955
    Attended by: EARL (18TH) OF DERBY
  • Show More (1)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
18490

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Current location

Church Street Gardens
Church St
Leigh
Wigan
Greater Manchester
WN7 1EQ
England

OS Grid Ref: SD 65843 00244
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Description
A Portland stone column set on a two-step plinth on a stepped flagged base. The two cast bronze WW1 panels are on the North and South faces and are set between fluted columns with a laurel wreath above each panel. Above them is frieze carrying the dedication, and the date of both World Wars (on the East and West faces), and above that is a two step pedestal surmounted by a laurel wreath, laid flat on top. The East and West faces carry the Sword of Sacrifice between brass uprights resembling spears with a laurel wreath around each point, stood off from the surface on brackets. The WW2 names are on eleven cast bronze plaques set on the top surface of a separate Portland stone plinth on the South side of the main column. This effectively makes this the 'front' of the whole Memorial, and turns the original memorial back-to-front, as the second half of the WW1 names are on that side of the column. The inscriptions are raised, except for some additional names incised at the bottom of the WW1 columns. There is a small cast bronze plaque set below the second panel of WW1 names which carries the name of a casualty of the Yugoslav conflicts of the 1990s.
Inscription
Above the two WW1 panels on the North and South faces: Our Glorious Dead (Names) On the East and West faces: 1914 - 1919/ 1939 - 1945 On the WW2 plinth: 1939 - 1945 (Names) On the Bosnia plaque: Bosnia 1999/ (Name)
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Ackers, H
Ackers, R
Adamson, J
Adlington, H
Agar, T A
Ainscough, J
Ainsworth, J T
Aldred, F W
Aldred, P
Almond, J
See details for all 1008 names
Commemorations
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 725
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 725
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Initials, surname
    Order of information: Alphabetically
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 282
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 282
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Surname, initials
    Order of information: Alphabetically
  • Yugoslav Wars (1991-1999)
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Forenames, surname
    Order of information: As above
Components
  • Plaques / Panels with names
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Bronze
  • Cenotaph
    Measurements: height 7100MM
    Materials: Stone
Listing information
  • WAR MEMORIAL NEAR JUNCTION WITH SILK STREET
  • Grade II
  • This memorial is protected, and listed on the National Heritage List for England maintained by Historic England. View list entry
  • More about listing and the protection of historic places can be found on the Historic England website
  • Historic England
Condition
History
1999: MEMORIAL RESTORED AND LIGHTING PLACED AROUND AT A COST OF £136,000. MEMORIAL AT RISK DUE TO VANDALISM AND SUBSIDENCE
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:

© WMR-18490

For queries, please contact [email protected].