Alcock Monument In Centre Of Manchester Southern Cemetery

The Alcock monument, located in the center of Manchester Southern Cemetery, is a cemetery monument dating from around 1920. It commemorates Flight Commander Sir John W. Alcock K.B.E., D.S.C., who died in 1919 and was the pilot of the first aircraft to make a non-stop trans-Atlantic flight. The monument is made of white marble and takes the form of a tall Celtic cross on a pedestal, set within a rectangular enclosure that also features a marble rock with a propeller.

The cross has a stepped base with raised lettering spelling "ALCOCK" on the second step. The pedestal is inscribed with details about Alcock's death in an accident while flying a Viking flying boat from Weybridge to the Paris Aircraft Exhibition on December 18th, 1919. The shaft and head of the cross are richly carved. Surrounding the enclosure is a low wall with lettering that records the details of Alcock's transatlantic flight in a Vickers Vimy biplane from St Johns, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, on June 14th-15th, 1919, covering 1,890 miles in 15 hours and 57 minutes. For this achievement, Alcock was knighted by H.M. King George V on June 21st, 1919.