Memorial details

Memorial type
Gate
District
Wigan
Town
Standish
County
Greater Manchester
Country
England
Commemoration
Second World War (1939-1945), First World War (1914-1918)
Ceremony
  • Dedicated
    Date: 2 October 1926
    Attended by: Unknown
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
27144

Support IWM

Donate with Just Giving

Any gift we receive makes a vital contribution to our ongoing work, from conserving our collection to supporting our public programme.

Make a Donation
Current location

St Wilfrid's Church
Market Place
Standish
Wigan
Greater Manchester
WN6 0HT
England

OS Grid Ref: SD 56305 10231
Denomination: Church of England

View location on Google Maps
Description
Built at the South-West corner of the churchyard, a two-storey, castellated sandstone gate house with iron gates, and a small turret upon which is set a flagpole. Inside, the original WW1 cast bronze plaque was inset in the centre of the North wall, with carved inscriptions each side and below, beneath a carved arch of acorns and oak leaves above crossed palm branches. After WW2 the wall was reconfigured so that a new cast dedicatory plaque was installed in that central space, and new insets carved out to take the WW1 plaque on the left, and a new WW2 plaque of similar type to the right. There is a sandstone shelf beneath the plaques on which is sat a block of stone for holding plant pots, upon which there is a text inscribed. In 2018, to mark the Centenary of the end of WW1 a new inscription was carved into the outer edge of the shelf. There are carved inscriptions, painted red, around the inside walls of the gatehouse. Outside there are dedications, with a crowned cross above, carved into the outside wall of the staircase leading to the upper levels of the gatehouse on the street side. On the church side, in a roofed niche, there is a carved statue of William Temple, then the Bishop of Manchester, in whose Diocese the Parish was at the time of its Dedication. Opposite to the dedicatory plaques for the Peace Gate, there are also 5 memorial plaques from the local collieries of the Wigan Coal and Iron Company Limited. These are; Prospect Pit: WMR 1841, Taylor and John Pit: WMR 84115, Victoria Pit: WMR 27465, Langtree Pit: WMR 59495, Giants Hall Pit: WMR 27470
Inscription
Inside the gate: Above the left hand, WW1 plaque: 1914-1918 On the plaque: Praise God for the members of/ Standish Parish Church who fell/ in the Great War 1914 - 1918/ (Names) Central plaque: Roll of Honour/ 1914-1918 1939-1945/ Their name liveth/ To the Glory of God/ and in grateful memory/ of those who in the two/ Great Wars/ laid down their lives/ "They shall grow not old/ As we that are left grow old/ Age shall not earth them/ Nor the years condemn/ At the going down of the sun/ And in the morning/ We will remember them"/ BINYON/ 'If I should die/ think only this of me/ that there's some corner/ of a foreign field/ that is forever England"/ BROOKE Above the right-hand, WW2 plaque: 1939 - 45 On the plaque: (Names) In a scroll carved beneath the plaques: "Such a sleep they sleep the men I loved"/ Passing of Arthur, Tennyson On the stone for holding flower pots: O may we join the choir invisible/ of those immortal dead who live again On the outside edge of the shelf for the above: 1918 - Lest we forget - 2018 Carved in an inset to the outside front wall: To the Greater Glory of God/ AMEN/ This Memorial Gate was built/ as a tribute to the men of/ Standish/ who counting death no loss/ valiantly made the last sacrifice/ in defence of their hearths & homes/ in the European War/ The men " Whose praise is/ throughout all the Churches"/ "Who stands if Freedom fall/ Who dies if England live." Kipling. Carved beneath the inset: Sons of this place, let this of you be said/ that you who live are worthy of your dead/ These gave their lives that you who live may reap/ a richer harvest ere you fall asleep. Royds
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Allen, Amos
Armer, William Roy
Arstall, Alfred
Aspey, Ernest
Astley, John
Aubrey, Charles F
Babb, Arthur
Ball, Daniel
Banks, Robert
Banks, Robert
See details for all 125 names
Commemorations
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 47
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 47
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Christian names, surname
    Order of information: Christian names, surname
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 78
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 78
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Christian names, surname
    Order of information: Christian names, surname
Components
  • Plaque
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Bronze
  • Gate
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Stone - Sandstone
Listing information
  • GATEHOUSE TO CHURCH OF ST WILFRID
  • 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
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Responsibility
CHURCH AUTHORITIES
Reference
  • Wigan Observer, 14 Dec 1918: Report of a meeting of Standish Urban District Council at which a letter from the Rector, outlining the Church's proposals for a memorial gate-house at the church, and of the intention that it should carry the names of the 60-plus who had been lost, together with the names of the 600-plus who had served, 'irrespective of their denomination'. A discussion, during which objections were voiced, followed.
  • Wigan Observer, 17 Apr 1926: Report of the Vestry Meeting at St Wilfrid's - decided that 'only members of the Church of England ...killed... died of wounds... or reported missing should have their names inscribed on the tablet, but that the names of all who served should be included in a roll to be kept in the church, and that this total be recorded upon the tablet in the Gate House.' (The latter was not carried out)
  • Wigan Observer, 18 Jan 1919: Report of a meeting of Standish Urban District Council at which the proposal regarding the gate-house was again discussed. The objections to the proposal were not that the gate-house should not be built, but that it should not be considered the public memorial to the war, as it would be seen as sectarian by some.

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-27144

For queries, please contact [email protected].