Waterhead War Memorial

First World War memorial, 1920, with Second World War additions

MATERIALS: sandstone, bronze statue

DESCRIPTION: Waterhead War Memorial is located within an area of hard landscaping at the junction of where Brideoak Street and Heywood Street meet Huddersfield Road.

It takes the form of a bronze statue of a solder advancing at the moment of victory, with a bayonet in his right hand and holding his helmet aloft in his left. The rest of the memorial is of sandstone with the soldier standing on a tiered pedestal which surmounts a tall, four-sided plinth. The plinth has a square cap with a moulded cornice beneath and it terminates in a moulded foot. This is set upon a square, block base, which in turn surmounts a narrow, square platform. All lettering is incised.

The north-west face of the plinth carries the principal inscription, which reads, TO/ THE MEN OF/ WATERHEAD/ WHO FOUGHT/ AND FELL/ IN THE/ GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919. A further inscription is to the south-east face and reads, ERECTED/ BY PUBLIC/ SUBSCRIPTION/ UNVEILED BY/ ELISHA BARDSLEY J.P./ APRIL 17TH 1920.

The north-east face carries the Second World War dedication, which reads IN MEMORY OF/ THE MEN AND WOMEN/ OF THIS PARISH/ WHO FELL DURING THE/ 1939-1945/ WAR./ “AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN,/ AND IN THE MORNING/ WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.”

The north-east face of the base records the four names of the members of the War Memorial Committee.