Memorial details

Memorial type
Board / Plaque / Tablet
District
Bristol
Town
Portishead
County
Avon
Country
England
Commemoration
Second World War - civilians, Second World War (1939-1945)
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: 11 November 1947
    Attended by: Chief Constable H.P. Hind performed the unveiling, at a ceremony attended by the Mayor and Mayoress, and the Archdeacon of Bath
  • Dedicated
    Date: 11 November 1947
    Attended by: The Archdeacon of Bath performed the dedication
  • Show More (1)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
7224

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Current location

On the wall under a verandah that overlooks the Memorial Garden.
Avon and Somerset Police and Fire HQ
Valley Road
Portishead
Bristol
Avon
BS20 8JJ
England

OS Grid Ref: ST 44871 75578
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Previous locations
  • Central Police Station
    Manvers Street
    Bath
    Bath
    Avon
    BA1 1JQ
    England

    OS Grid Ref: ST 75221 64556
    Denomination: Undefined
  • Central Police Station
    Orange Grove
    Bath
    Bath
    Avon
    BA1 1LP
    England

    OS Grid Ref: Undefined
    Denomination: Undefined
  • Show More (1)
Description
Rectangular tablet, supported by two corbels, with the Bath Coat of Arms at top-centre. The incised inscription is in gold lettering; the names of the Fallen and their service details are in black lettering. (The eight members of the Bath Special Constabulary and P.C. Kenneth Snook of the Somerset County Constabulary who were named on the memorial all died during an air raid on Bath on 26/4/1942, part of the "Baedecker Raids". The memorial omitted mention of a 16 year old Bath City Police Messenger named Horace G. Pearson, who was also killed in the same air raid).
Inscription
BATH CITY POLICE FORCE/ TO THE HONOURED MEMORY OF OUR COMRADES WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WORLD WAR OF 1939-1945/ (Names)/ SPECIAL CONSTABULARY/ (Names)
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Adkins, Frank
Barrow, Lionel
Brooksbank, Dennis
Hayward, Albert
Hellier, Frederick
James, Clifford
Keedwell, John
Kelly, John
Lott, Thomas
Packwood, Charles
See details for all 14 names
Commemorations
  • Second World War - civilians
    Total names on memorial: 9
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 9
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Police rank, forename, surname
    Order of information: Undefined
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 5
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 5
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Police rank, forename, surname, military rank and unit
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Tablet
    Measurements: height 700mm, width 1220mm
    Materials: Marble
Listing information
Condition
History
May 2020: The memorial has been confirmed as now hanging on the wall at HQ, under a verandah that runs alongside and overlooks the Memorial Garden./ c2018: This memorial has been removed and cleaned. A decision will be made as to when it will be re-sited.
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Responsibility
Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Reference
  • Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette 15/11/1947 reported on page 12 that the tablet had been unveiled in the Parade Room of the Central Police Station the previous Tuesday. Page 14 of the same issue included a photograph of members of the Bath City Police Joint Branch, standing in front of the WW2 memorial that had just been unveiled, and which was fixed to the wall beneath the Force's WW1 brass memorial. (Details of the latter brass memorial can be found under our reference WMR 85924).
  • Somerset Constabulary Centenary Booklet (1857-1957), recorded that several of their officers were drafted in to assist other Police Forces around the county (such as the Bath and Bristol City Police Forces) who were being targeted during the Baedecker Raids in WW2. One such officer who was loaned to Bath City Police was Constable 253 Kenneth Snook of Somerset Constabulary, who was killed while on duty in Bath on 26/4/1942. (See www.asnarpo.org/letter/history.pdf Part 8 for further details). Having died on Police duty in Bath while on loan, P.C. Kenneth Snook was named on both the Bath City Police Memorial and the Somerset Constabulary WW2 Memorial.
  • War Memorials Register reference 87639 (Somerset County Constabulary WW2 Memorial): the Kenneth Edwin Snook named on the Bath City Police WW2 Memorial, due to dying in an air raid on Bath on 26/4/1942, was actually a member of the Somerset County Constabulary, on whose memorial he is also named.
  • thebathmagazine.co.uk/may-the-force-be-with-you-180-years-of-policing-bath/
  • www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/116078

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-7224

For queries, please contact [email protected].