Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway War Memorial, Victoria Station, Manchester

A wall-mounted war memorial, at the entrance to the station concourse, familiar to the thousands who use the station and Metrolink services each day. As Manchester was the centre of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company's network it was felt appropriate that the main memorial to the company's railwaymen who had died fighting in the war should be situated at Victoria Station. Some 10,400 of the company's staff had enlisted, of whom 1,465 died. Selecting the site for the memorial presented problems as the company had no suitable land outside of the station on which a free-standing memorial might have been placed. A space inside the busy station was also difficult to identify. Discussions resulted in the decision to site the memorial on the wall at the entrance to the station in the booking hall. The original design for the memorial came from the company's architect, Henry Shelmerdine, and was realised by the firm of George Wragge It was unveiled by Earl Haig in a ceremony which was reported as simple and dignified, in spite of the fact that some trains continued to run. In the same year that the memorial was unveiled the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company was absorbed into the London and North Western Railway.

Description Rectangular bronze memorial panel mounted on wall at one of the main entrances into the station. The bronze tablet rests on a band of marble and a granite base, in front of which are short bronze columns decorated with torches and wreaths. In the centre of the tablet are seven panels on which are listed the names of the railwaymen who lost their lives in the war. These are surmounted by the principal inscription and coats of arms of towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Symbolical figures of St Michael (standing, a sword raised above his head and the devil at his feet) and St George (on horseback, in the act of killing a dragon) are placed on either end the inscription panels, flanked by pilasters on which are torches representing courage and sacrifice, unity and strength. Verses from Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) are inscribed on the band of marble immediately below the tablet.

Inscription above the panels listing the names of the dead: THIS TABLET IS ERECTED TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THE LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAILWAY / WHOSE NAMES ARE HERE RECORDED AND WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR KING AND COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1919. Below the panels on marble band: THEIR GLORY SHALL NOT BE BLOTTED OUT AND THEIR NAME LIVETH TO ALL GENERATIONS ECCLESIASTICUS XLIV, VERSES 13.14.

THE PASSING OF THE L & Y RAILWAY, A WAR MEMORIAL AT VICTORIA – On February 14 the final meeting of shareholders of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, now absorbed in the London and North Western Railway Company, will be held at Victoria Station, Manchester. On the same day a war memorial will be unveiled in the booking hall of the station bearing the names of the Lancashire and Yorkshire railwaymen who lost their lives in the war. The memorial, which is the work of Messrs George Wragge Limited, is a dignified and imposing piece of work in cast bronze. It is to be placed at eye level on a wall of the booking hall in the entrance to the station. It is arranged in seven panels, on which are placed the names – 1,465 in all – of the men who fell. The panels are surrounded by frames of laurel leaf and surmounted by the coats of arms of various towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire. At the ends are figures of St George and St Michael, and above are ornamental caps, carrying the arms of Lancaster York, Manchester and Leeds. The whole is surmounted by a bold cornice under which appears the inscription “This tablet is erected to perpetuate the memory of the men of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway whose names are here recorded, and who gave their lives for their King and country in the Great War, 1914-1919.” The work, which has been in progress for nearly two years, owes its conception to Mr Henry Shelmerdine, formerly architect to the L and Y Railway Company, from whose ideas Messrs Wragge have designed and modelled a very striking memorial. [Manchester Guardian 21 January 1922 page 13].

Reference    Terry Wyke: Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester, page 138-139
Reference    Manchester Guardian 21 January 1922
Reference    Manchester Guardian 15 Feb 1922
Reference    Times 15 Feb 1922