Davyhulme Circle War Memorial

First World War cenotaph incorporating a memorial clock, 1924, with Second World War inscriptions added later, ashlar sandstone

The war memorial is located on a large roundabout island to the centre of Davyhulme Circle. It consists of a tall, slender, square cenotaph with a tall base incorporating low buttresses to the north and south sides. The west face of the cenotaph's base is inscribed with the words 'ROLL OF HONOUR' and the names of 23 men (including one repeated family name) who were killed during the First World War, all set within a carved surround. Below is the inscription: 'TELL ENGLAND YE WHO PASS THIS MONUMENT,/ WE DIED FOR HER AND NOW WE REST CONTENT.'. Beneath this is a further later inscription that reads 'ALSO THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR/ 1939 - 1945' and the names of 6 men killed during the Second World War. The cenotaph's shaft is carved to present a full-height cross on each face; the upper part of each cross projects further and at an angle (enabled by the shaft's taper). Each cross also contains a smaller incised, carved cross. The uppermost part of the cenotaph on all four faces has an illuminated brass clock dial glazed in opal. Below the clock dials is a carved band with relief lettering that reads in an anti-clockwise direction around the cenotaph from the west face: 'IN MEMORY OF/ THOSE WHO FELL IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 - 1918'. The east face of the cenotaph has a small timber hatch set to the centre of the shaft that provides access to the clock mechanism inside, which consists of a Graham deadbeat escapement and a nickel steel pendulum.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 30 January 2017.