Oldham War Memorial

Oldham War Memorial is a war memorial in Oldham, England, comprising a large bronze sculpture group on a granite plinth. It was built to commemorate the men of Oldham who were killed in the First World War. Bronze plaques on the wall of the churchyard nearby list the fallen, including Mabel Drinkwater, a nurse who died after an operation at Oldham Royal Infirmary. A mechanised roll of honour was added in the 1950s, listing the men from Oldham who were killed in the Second World War. The memorial became a Grade II listed building in 1973. The listing was upgraded to Grade II* in December 2016. Background and locationAfter the end of the First World War, a campaign was started in 1919 to raise £20, 000 to build a war memorial in Oldham, and to endow educational scholarships for the children who lost a father, with the intention that any excess funds would be paid to Oldham Royal Infirmary . The memorial was commissioned in 1919 by the Oldham War Memorial Committee. It was designed and built by Thomas Taylor and the bronze sculpture was by Albert Toft. The siting of the memorial proved controversial: the first proposed site in the Market Place, close to some public lavatories, was rejected, and a second site by St Mary's Church was considered to be too close to a public house, the Greaves Arms. Other sites in Alexandra Park or close to the library were considered, before the decision was made to erect the memorial near St Mary's Church, opposite the Old Town Hall.

Oldham War Memorial is a war memorial in Oldham, England, comprising a large bronze sculpture group on a granite plinth. It was built to commemorate the men of Oldham who were killed in the First World War. Bronze plaques on the wall of the churchyard nearby list the fallen, including Mabel Drinkwater, a nurse who died after an operation at Oldham Royal Infirmary. A mechanised roll of honour was added in the 1950s, listing the men from Oldham who were killed in the Second World War. The memorial became a Grade II listed building in 1973. The listing was upgraded to Grade II* in December 2016. Background and locationAfter the end of the First World War, a campaign was started in 1919 to raise £20, 000 to build a war memorial in Oldham, and to endow educational scholarships for the children who lost a father, with the intention that any excess funds would be paid to Oldham Royal Infirmary . The memorial was commissioned in 1919 by the Oldham War Memorial Committee. It was designed and built by Thomas Taylor and the bronze sculpture was by Albert Toft. The siting of the memorial proved controversial: the first proposed site in the Market Place, close to some public lavatories, was rejected, and a second site by St Mary's Church was considered to be too close to a public house, the Greaves Arms. Other sites in Alexandra Park or close to the library were considered, before the decision was made to erect the memorial near St Mary's Church, opposite the Old Town Hall.