Prenton War Memorial

First World War memorial, unveiled 6 August 1920, by Briggs, Wolstenholme & Thornley of Liverpool with sculptural work by Frank Thomas and Son of Oxton.

MATERIALS: Yorkshire sandstone with slate inscription plaques.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is set within a landscaped memorial garden and is set upon a two-stepped, coped plinth and has an octagonal three-tiered design incorporating elaborate carved decoration. The lowest tier incorporates slate panels to each face that bear the memorial’s inscriptions. A cornice supported by eight cartouches with crossed palm leafs and hanging festoons divides this from the second tier.

The inscriptions run anti-clockwise from the south face and read as follows:

Tablet one: IN HONOUR/ OF/ THE MEN OF/ THIS/ PARISH/ WHO SERVED/ IN THE/ GREAT/ EUROPEAN/ WAR/ 1914-1919 Tablet two: DIED FOR THEIR/ COUNTRY/ [NAMES] Tablets three-six: SERVED ABROAD/ [NAMES] Tablet seven: SERVED ABROAD/ [NAMES]/ SERVED AT HOME/ [NAMES] Tablet eight: DIED FOR THEIR/ COUNTRY/ [NAMES]

The memorial’s second tier is adorned with double panels of open tracery on each face, topped by a cornice. The top tier has bas-relief panels to each face and a cornice above. Surmounting the whole is a Celtic cross with small urns to each corner, some of which appear to be missing.