Lest We Forget

Hello,

Whenever I go to Liberty Department Store in London I  take my time going up the stairs as the staircase, like the rest of the store, is so very lovely.  I don't know when I first really took in the meaning of this plaque.  It just formed part of the fabric of the building and didn't immediately jump out at me.  I think that is often the way with war memorials.  We become so accustomed to seeing them that we often bearly give them a second thought.
  


A couple of weeks ago I spent a happy afternoon in Clitheroe, Lancashire and took a walk up to the delightfully positioned Clitheroe Castle.  In the grounds of the castle I was very moved by this memorial that was erected by the people of Clitheroe to honour the men of the town who died in the First World War.  The size, bulk and stance of the figure is a powerful reminder that the names on such memorials represent real men and it is fitting that the statue occupies such a prominent position.




I don't know how many times I must've passed these plaques on the side of this building on Regent Street in Altrincham, Cheshire but I never before realised it was a war memorial.  Without the poppy wreaths it is very discrete which makes its inscription all the more shocking when you read it. (From 60 houses on what had been Chapel Street 161 men volunteered and served in the 1914-18 war.  29 of them lost their lives). 


  
 War memorials large and small are so interwoven with the architecture of our cities, towns and villages that it's easy to take them for granted, but I'm sure I'm not alone in being glad of them.  However busy our lives are there will always be times when we are brought up short by the significance of them.

The memorial below stands outside the Library in the city village where I live, Didsbury in Manchester.  I love the fact that it is in such a key spot in the village and imagine that for generations children will pass with adults and ask questions about it.




I'd taken the first three photos on this blog post before I even thought about doing a post on them.  I was prompted to post because of the timing, it being Armistice Day today.  When I decided to do a post and had a think about which local memorials I might pop and take a photo of, I was surprised at how many I had to choose from.  When you're driving around tomorrow, going about your normal business, take special heed of memorials and you'll see that they are many and quite varied.

For my final photo I chose the one below which is in a small park in Ardwick Green just a stone's throw from the centre of Manchester.  It is located just outside the local Territorial Army Centre.  Itself a reminder that the dead of war are not just a thing of the past.


     
   
 Triciax