HALEWOOD PORT WAR MEMORIAL PROJECT

About the Project


Site Dedication - David Irving

This war memorial web site is dedicated to the memory of David Irving of Halewood (pictured left).   


After a long battle with illness, David 'Izzy' Irving passed away on 26 July 2012 at the age of only forty-six. Dave was in frequent contact with myself and I was so sorry to hear the sad news of his passing.   He frequently contributed to my Halewood website (www.halewood.org.uk) and we had numerous long phone calls going over details regarding the men of the war memorial.   In fact, I held back from putting much of his research online, as I kept encouraging him to get it published; I felt it should appear under his own name before the web site. I feel especially sad that this didn’t happen.


Out of the blue he would call me,  sometimes to add precious detail to some of my other interest areas, especially general Halewood history, but also detail about the Farndon war memorial in the village where I now live (www.farndon.org.uk). Some of the Farndon information I was truly amazed that he had turned up, entirely unrequested, but just reflected his kindness and keenness to help me out.  I miss his phone calls, his valuable help and his humour.  I had lists of places he wanted me to visit on my next Battlefields trip. I did so, and photographed them all, and the results are within these pages.   His help therefore, on identifying those on the Halewood Memorial was invaluable,  together with detailed background information on many of them. Consequently, this site has clearly benefited from his input and stands here in memory of a fine gentleman.


Condolences to his wife Karen and children Oliver, Jacob and Isobel.  My 81 year old mother Hazel (who passed away on 27 December 2013) sang in the St Nicholas church choir at the funeral.

Mike Royden


Dave was an avid fan of history forums and he is remembered on the Great War Forum and WW2 Talk - click both to view the messages in memorium.
[Thanks to his cousin Paul Gardiner for additional information and the photograph of their battlefields trip above – Dave was able to make his only visit before he became too ill.]


War Memorial Research

The aim of the project is to research as many of the names recorded on the local war memorial as is possible and to upload the results on this site. All those recorded on the memorial have now been traced and identified and biographies continue to be prepared, and will be added in due course. A wealth of documents have been amassed, including census records, medal cards, war pension records and soldier's war records, to provide as much detail as possible, to put together short, informative biographies about each person.

There has also been a systematic programme to trace their final resting place, whether it be at home or abroad, and to photograph and record the war grave or memorial. A number of men were buried in the UK, or are on home based memorials.

Not all are uploaded as the process is time consuming, but biographies are being continuously added to the 'Soldier's of the Memorial' page. There is a great deal of information that has been researched, but yet to be added.

It is also intended to research wider aspects of the period, such as Halewood and the Home Front during the war, plus information on those who served and survived the war.

Soldiers not on the Memorial

Research has revealed that there are men who were not recorded on the war memorial. Occasionally, new items appear in the local press drawing attention to the fact that a name has been missed off, and that the local authorities are being contacted with a view to putting the anomaly right. However, this is actually nothing unusual, although of course it is perfectly understandable that descendants wish to see the name of their family member added in due course.

Although the national memorials had been organised by central government, the decision of how to remember those from local communities who had given their lives were largely left to local town and parish councils. There was also the problem of who to include, as there was no central body from which a list could be obtained. Instead, the collation of names for inclusion on the memorial was carried out by the committee responsible for the memorial's erection by a variety of ways, which included door-to-door enquiries, leaflets through letter boxes, church announcements, articles in the local press, or by word of mouth. The committee usually defined the criteria for who could be added. In some cases, there were strict geographic boundaries, whilst others were a little more flexible. Because there was no centralised organisation, much of the information regarding how local committees proceeded no longer exists. Some minutes have been preserved, whilst information can also be gleaned from local newspapers or parochial histories, especially those mentioning unveiling ceremonies.

There was often controversy, ranging from a number of Catholics who objected to the siting of memorials in front of, or within, the bounds of Anglican parish churches, to those who couldn't agree on the what form the memorial should take. Then there was often much discussion on whether certain names should be left off - especially deserters and those shot for cowardice.

The omission of names, therefore, was not uncommon, especially when the onus may have been with the bereaved family to notify the committee to include their soldier's name. Sometimes, families wanted to move on, and life's priorities were elsewhere. Other families moved away from the area to find work. Frequently, for those who were missing on the battlefield, inscribing the name on a memorial was final acceptance by the family that their loved one would not be coming home, and for some who still held out hope, this was more than they could bear. Private Pemberton, pictured, was just such a man, whose family believed he was a prisoner of war, until finally accepting he would not be coming home.

Whatever the reason for omission, it is also intended to gradually add such local men to the website. Maybe they too can be added to the actual memorial in the future.


Education

Coach parties of pupils from The Whitby High School are taken over to the Battlefields on a regular basis, for a comprehensive four day trip. The author of this site has been one of the leaders for the past decade or more, and is the guide for all the battlefield tours. Many of the students have previously carried out research on soldiers of local memorials, and follow this up by trying to discover their soldiers's resting place or memorial in Belgium or France.


Student's Own Ancestral Research

Some of the pupils visiting the Battlefields are also keen to find their own ancestors, and we have successfully traced numerous family members, in addition to carrying out preparation work on the family tree and the soldiers's war record before leaving the UK. We have also traced several ancestors of staff too. On our final evening in Belgium we have had the honour each time to lead the ceremony at the Menin Gate, with pupils reciting the eulogy, and laying down the first wreath, in memory, of course, of the the men of the local war memorial.

Cemeteries and Memorials

Some of the men were never found, and they are recorded on memorials such as the Menin Gate in Belgium, or the Thiepval Memorial on the Somme in France. Those with known graves lie in immaculate cemeteries maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Their care for graves is not confined to those which are scattered throughout the Battlefields, but for all 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two world wars. It may come as a surprise to know that there are several war graves in St. Nicholas' Churchyard in Halewood village.

Web site author

The site is researched, written and designed by Mike Royden. He has been a History teacher for 25 years and a lecturer in Local History in the University of Liverpool Centre for Continuing Education for a similar period. He has numerous publications to his name (see here) and has recently completed a book on 'The Home Front During the First World War', extracts of which can be found on this site. His World War One research can also be seen in the history of the men of Farndon War Memorial and Ellesmere Port War Memorial, plus an online history of his own family's experiences in Liverpool (A Family at War - The Effects of the First World War on the family of John and Elizabeth Royden of Liverpool(1872-1920)). Much of this work is augumented and supported by numerous visits to Battlefields of France and Belgium, where he also acts as a guide.

www.roydenhistory.co.uk

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