Dudley Memorials

Amblecote was an Urban District with a population of 3,155 in 1911. After the armistice and after much community debate the civic War Memorial was erected as a commemorative lych-gate leading to Holy Trinity church. The dedication service, performed by William Wilson Cash, Bishop of Worcester, took place on Sunday 6th November 1921. Sixty two names were inscribed on two painted wooden panels in alphabetical order. In 1950 the wooden panels were replaced by panels cast in bronze and the names of the seventeen casualties from the Second World War were added. Sixty six names are listed on the 1914-1918 Memorial. One man was mistakenly included...

Brierley Hill was an Urban District in Staffordshire with a population numbering 12,263 in the 1911 census. The Memorial was based on a design by Councillor J T Fereday and filled out by Francis Lane, a local preacher and industrialist. It was unveiled on the 12th November 1921 in its striking location near St. Michael’s church, overlooking the view to the Clent Hills. The sculpture was carried out by George Brown and Sons of Kidderminster and the Memorial consists of a square column on a stepped base with the names of 203 men on three faces. The fourth face has the inscription: IN GRATITUDE & ADMIRATION THIS MEMORIAL WAS ERECTED...

Coseley has been treated unfortunately in respect of its war memorials. In 1914 it was an Urban District consisting of several Black Country hamlets and communities based on its mining and iron-working background. Later local government reorganisation reduced its scale and eventually in 1973-4 it disappeared into Dudley and Wolverhampton. Consequently it is difficult to work out who were the ‘Men of Coseley’. After hostilities an Avenue of Remembrance was favoured by the local people and Coseley Council for a ‘living’ memorial. The idea of a memorial of trees which would remain as a permanent remembrance for the loss...

The first commemoration of the men of Cradley was the planting in 1922 of 60 lime trees and a few poplars by the children of Cradley Church school. They formed an Avenue of Remembrance in St. Peter’s churchyard and each tree had a plaque named for a past pupil who died in the war. An oak cross and memorial stone provided the focus for the avenue and the inscription on the stone reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE EVERLASTING MEMORY OF THE SIXTY OLD SCHOLARS OF THE CHURCH SCHOOLS WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918. THESE TREES WERE PLANTED AND THIS STONE ERECTED BY THEIR OLD SCHOOL FELLOWS. DECEMBER 16TH 1922 The trees were neglected...

Dudley’s War Memorial is impressive in almost every way. In 1918 the town was a County Borough with a 1911 population of 51,079 and second to none in pride and reputation in the Black Country. Although it took many years to complete, the War Memorial was incorporated in the clock tower of the new Town Hall of 1928 and commemorates no fewer than 720 names. It was unveiled by Stanley Baldwin, the Prime Minister, at the same time as he opened the Town Hall buildings. The architect was Harvey and Wicks and the sculptor was William Bloye. On the main façade and above the first floor window appears a sculpture of St. George and the...

The Memorial Hall was built on the site of the former Sunday School of St. James.church. It became the Village Hall for the parish and after the Great War a War Memorial was established in an exterior lobby. Four panels carry 57 names and at the centre is a cross is mounted on a block of stone with the following dedication: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE MEN OF LOWER GORNAL WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 May they rest in peace

Halesowen was a Rural District in 1918 with a 1911 population of 25,804. The War Memorial was erected by the Council in 1921 to serve as the memorial for the whole District. It, therefore, includes most of those named on the Cradley memorial of 1928 and nearly half of those on the St. Paul’s, Blackheath, memorial. It is constructed of sandstone and stands by the north entrance to St. John’s churchyard in the centre of the town. It consists of a raised platform and cross with a curved wall now carrying the names relating to both world wars. The Great War names were originally inscribed on the stone but were replaced by bronze...

The Kingswinford War Memorial overlooks the Village Green and is built within an apse in the exterior wall of the cemetery of St. Mary’s church. The design is that of a war shrine with a Calvary on a wooden shaft in the centre. It was originally dedicated in 1917 and included the names of those serving in the war as well as who had died. After the war the wooden name panels were removed and metal plaques with the names of the 77 who had died were placed on the wall behind the Calvary. The dedication on the top of the apse wall reads: AMDG IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR

In 1918 the Urban District of The Lye and Wollescote represented an area which was proud of its industrial achievement and whose population in the 1911 census was just under 12,000. The memorial to the men of Lye and Wollescote was erected in front of Christ Church in October 1926. The builder was George Brown and Sons of Kidderminster who were also responsible for the Brierley Hill Memorial. The infantryman holding rifle and bayonet and standing on the top is Stanley Harley DCM, the same figure as at Brierley Hill.: Two hundred and forty five names were inscribed on three faces of the main pillar and five were later added at the base. One...

In 1918 Netherton was a District of Dudley with a population of 14,154. Two Memorials were erected at St Andrew’s church, a cenotaph outside and a Memorial panel inside. The cenotaph is situated at the head of the church drive. It consists of a stepped memorial pillar with a Celtic cross at its head but has no names. The inscription reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN HONOURED MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE

Two Memorials were erected at St Mark’s church, a memorial column outside the church and beside the main road. The second was a Memorial panel inside the church. Both are used for commemorations. PENSNETT MEMORIAL The Memorial is a square pillar resting on a stepped base. There is a cross at the top of the pillar and the names are on three faces. The fourth has an unusual Dedication: THIS PILLAR OF SACRIFICE WAS RAISED TO THE MEMORY OF THE SEVENTY FIVE MEN OF PENSNETT WHO ARE REMEMBERED AMONG THE ONE MILLION DEAD OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 .THEY DIED IN EVERY QUARTER OF THE EARTH AND THEIR GRAVES ARE MADE...

Stourbridge was granted the status of a Borough in 1914 and its population at the1911 census was 17,380. After much deliberation its War Memorial was erected in 1923 at the south end of the High Street and now stands in Mary Stevens Park, a much more pleasant situation. The inscription at the head of the pillar reads: IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE MEN OF STOURBRIDGE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR A fine sculpture of ‘Victorious Peace’ holding a wreath and kneeling to honour the fallen stands on the pillar and at the base is a frieze of war scenes. The designer was Ernest Pickford and the sculptor was John Cassidy. The names of...

Wordsley Memorial was erected in 1921 in front of Holy Trinity church and faces the High Street, It was dedicated on the 12th November of that year, almost exactly three years after the armistice. The architect was A.T. Butler and the builder was George Brown of Kidderminster, the firm responsible for the Memorials at Brierley Hill and Lye. The rectangular stone memorial stands some 20 feet high and rests on a circular base. A rectangular urn is placed on top. The Great War names are carried on two metal plaques. The first faces the street and is headed with the dedication: ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF WORDSLEY TO HONOUR THEIR GLORIOUS DEAD WHO...