New Brighton War Memorial

New Brighton War Memorial

This war memorial was erected in 1921 on Magazines Promenade in New Brighton, overlooking the River Mersey towards the Crosby Channel. It was designed by the Scottish sculptor William Birnie Rhind (1853–1933) and the architectural partnership of Briggs and Thornely (comprising FG Briggs and Sir Arnold Thornely, who also worked in partnership with HV Wolstenholme and FB Hobbs). The memorial was constructed by Thornton & Sons Ltd and unveiled on 26 January 1921 by Lord Derby.

The memorial is constructed of Portland stone. Its centrepiece is a large carved square pedestal featuring a laurel leaf band and triglyph band at the bottom, and a carved egg and dart band at the top set below a cornice. The pedestal stands upon a stepped circular plinth and is surmounted by three carved figures representing the Armed Forces: a standing British soldier holding a rifle, a kneeling British sailor holding an anti-aircraft round, and a seated Colonial soldier with a pistol. These figures look out over the river landscape.

The curved east face of the pedestal displays a carving of the Wallasey coat of arms above the principal inscription, which reads "1914/1919/TO THE GLORY OF GOD/AND IN HONOUR OF THE BRAVE MEN OF THIS BOROUGH/WHO SERVED IN THE GREAT/WAR AND TO THE LOVING/MEMORY OF THOSE WHO/MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE". Later inscriptions were added to the south and north faces to commemorate those who served during the Second World War, unusually honouring both men and women of the Armed Forces and those in Civil Defence and the Auxiliary Forces.

The memorial encloses a casket containing a Book of Remembrance recording the names of 848 men lost during the First World War; an identical copy is held in Wallasey Central Library. The entire memorial is enclosed by eight low circular Portland stone pillars connected by chains, surrounded by a later set of black and gilded railings arranged in a square.

The memorial stands in front of the east wall of the former Liscard Battery, built in 1858 and abandoned in 1912 after prolonged disuse. The cost of £6,000 was raised by public subscription, of which £2,500 was used for the memorial itself, with the remainder funding an extension to the Victoria Central Hospital.