Fleetwood War Memorial

Fleetwood War Memorial

A First World War memorial of 1927 with Second World War and later additions, located on Remembrance Avenue in Fleetwood's Memorial Park.

The memorial is constructed of sandstone on a flagstone base. It consists of a tall cylindrical sandstone plinth with a chamfered base, standing on an octagonal step. The plinth is surrounded by adjacent circular sandstone flower planters. The entire structure stands upon a rectangular flagstone base of three steps, with square flower planters positioned at each corner.

The cylindrical plinth is topped with a sculptured Romanesque figure of a young man representing Liberty. He stands against an altar upon which sits an urn. His right arm is raised holding a pole topped with an eternal flame. He carries a wreath in his left hand and wears a laurel garland on his head.

An inscription around the top of the plinth reads: FOR FREEDOM LOVING BRITONS, THE BELOVED ONES DIED FOR US.

The west face of the plinth displays a low-relief carving of an unknown figure beneath an inscription that reads: TO THE MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF / FLEETWOOD WHO / GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR THEIR COUNTRY / 1914-1918 / AND IN GRATEFUL / REMEMBRANCE OF / THOSE WHO SHARED / ITS DANGER. The other faces of the circular plinth carry the names of the fallen.

The base of the plinth is inscribed: TO YOU FROM FALLING HANDS WE THROW THE TORCH, BE YOURS TO HOLD IT HIGH. MAN MUST STILL STRIVE, PRINCIPLES DO NOT APPLY THEMSELVES.

The octagonal lower base carries the inscription: 1939-1945 TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE WHO CONTINUED THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND THE CHRISTIAN WAY OF LIFE. Slate tablets affixed to the plinth immediately beneath this inscription, and to the four circular flower planters at the corners of the plinth's base step, are inscribed with the names of those who fell in the Second World War.

A slate tablet on the south face beneath the Second World War dedication reads: TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY POST 1945. It bears one name.

The memorial was designed and sculpted by Herbert Tyson Smith and unveiled on 22 October 1927 by Admiral Sir William Edmund Goodenough.