War Memorial

The war memorial, dating from the 1920s with a later plaque added after the Second World War, stands on St John’s Road, Heaton Mersey. The memorial is constructed from grey dimension stone, rock-faced granite steps, and bronze embossed plaques.

It features an alisée patée cross head with a halo, set upon a tall, tapering rectangular shaft. Celtic knotwork ornaments the south face. The cross stands on a coped pedestal, which carries a First World War plaque on the southern face and a Second World War plaque on the northern face. A smaller plaque is fixed to the southern coping. The pedestal is raised on three steps, creating a Calvary cross effect.

The south face of the First World War plaque bears the inscription “IN MEMORY SACRED FOR ALL TIME OF THE HEATON MERSEY MEN WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR FOR THE WORLD'S FREEDOM. 'GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS'” followed by an alphabetical list of 72 names. The south face coping is inscribed with "THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE". The Second World War plaque on the north face reads “IN THANKFUL MEMORY OF THE HEATON MERSEY MEN WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945,” followed by a list of 30 names and the text "GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS".

The memorial is centrally located on St John’s Road, facing south, and is aligned with the lych gate and south porch of the grade II listed Church of St John the Baptist. Its placement in relation to the lych gate may suggest involvement by Taylor and Young, the builders of the lych gate in 1927. The memorial was not marked on a 1922 map but appeared on a 1934 map. The unveiling date, designer, and commissioner remain unknown.