Workington War Memorial Cenotaph

The Workington War Memorial Cenotaph was designed in 1928 by the architect Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE, ARA, RSA, with bronze panels by Alex Carrick, ARSA, and commemorates those lost in both World Wars. Constructed from Shap pink granite with bronze panels, the cenotaph stands approximately 30 feet (9.1m) high on a two-stepped flagged-stone base. Each face contains a bronze panel set within an alcove; two are large and round-headed, while the other two are smaller and circular. The front, south-east face bears bronze lettering reading ‘LEST WE FORGET / 1914 - 1918 / 1939 - 1945’, above a depiction of a soldier saying goodbye to his wife and child. The rear, north-west face depicts a soldier assisting a wounded comrade. The side panels illustrate the region’s principal industries at the time of construction: steel making and mining. Carved into the upper part of the cenotaph, at the centre of each face, are the Coats-of-Arms of the County, the Borough, the Border Regiment, and the Royal Artillery. Above these carvings, the cenotaph tapers in width and depth, culminating in a granite lamp.

The cenotaph was built at a cost of £3,000, a combination of public subscription and funding from Workington Borough Council. It was unveiled on June 24, 1928, by Mrs. Catherine Ann Henderson, a local resident who had lost four sons, a brother, and a nephew in the First World War. A dedication ceremony was conducted by The Lord Bishop of Carlisle. During the unveiling, Lord Lonsdale presented the Mayor of Workington with a lead casket containing the Roll of Sacrifice – a list of 554 men of Workington who died in the First World War. This casket was placed within the cenotaph and sealed. Later, in the 1950s, the names of a further 170 individuals lost during the Second World War were added to the cenotaph.