- A stone panel inscribed with the names of those of the parish who fell in WW1.
- A framed document showing the names of those of the parish who fell "on active service" in WW2.
- A framed document showing the names of parishoners who were killed in an air raid during WW2.
Harry ARCHER Henry ARMITAGE James ARMITAGE W Stanley BARRY Harold BANCROFT Harry BANCROFT William B BARDSLEY Harold BRIDGE Harry BROADBENT Joseph BROADBENT James E BROOMHEAD Fred CROWLEY Harry CULLEN Roland CULLEN Harry DUCKWORTH John DUCKWORTH Alfred ELLIS Arthur FAULKNER Charles FOLEY | Harry H GREEN James H HALKYARD Robert HAMPSON Harold HARDY John HARDY Joe HARRISON Harold HILL John HAUGHTON Alfred JACKSON William JONES Bertie KIRTON Ernest KNOWLES John KNOWLES William KNOWLES Ernest LAWTON Samuel LEE Joseph LEIGH Willaim E LEWIS Harry LUNN | Thomas H METCALFE Percy MORLEY Fred MOSS Fred MOTTRAM William NAYLOR Fred OLDFIELD Charles OLDHAM David ORFORD William OSBORNE Harold PARR George PURSSGLOVE Arthur ROBINSON Walter ROBINSON Edwin SHERWIN Samuel SMALLEY James SMITH Ernest SPENCER John W STOTT Herbert SWINDELLS | J Edward TOLSON John WADDINGTON William WALLBANK E Worsley WESTBROOK Alan H WHARAM Frank WHARAM Harry WHARAM Walter WHITEHEAD Wilfred WHITEHEAD Arnold WILDE Ernest WILLIAMSON Harry WILSON Joseph WILSON William WILSON Ernest WOOD Fred WOOD |
Felix N ALEXANDER | George IBBOTSON | |
Alfred J AXON | Joseph LAWTON | |
Thomas N BERRY | + | Harold MONKS |
Arthur BOOTH | Ronald H NASH | |
W Leonard BOWDEN | Fred PLANT | |
Harold BUNTING | John ROWBOTHAM | |
Harold R CULLEN | Harry H WARBURTON |
KILLED ON ACTIVE SERVICE 2nd WORLD WAR 1939 - 1945
"FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH"
F Stanley SHARPE
John J SUDLOW
Margaret A SUDLOW
Ernest WADDINGTON
+
KILLED BY ENEMY ACTION
LEAVING DIVINE SERVICE
22nd DECEMBER 1940
"IN GOD'S KEEPING".
Having recorded the above memorial to civilian air-raid casualties I wanted to know more, so I read the local newspaper (the North Cheshire Herald) for relevant the date. It gave the following:
From Church Incidents of Air-Raid in North West |
The news item is not very informative. It mentions that people had been killed while returning from a church service, but it doesn't give their names or location, although it does give the names some children who were killed in a different unspecified location. That was all the newspaper was allowed to print. The Herald was printed a quarter mile from the scene of the tragedy. Its reporters would have known all the details, perhaps personally known those killed, but the censor did not allow them to print the information.
The censorship of the time was an attempt to deny information to the enemy, but, post-war, it makes it difficult to obtain details of air-raid casualties. Perhaps this is why only a small percentage of the civilian bombing casualties are mentioned on war memorials, in contrast to those who died on active service where a great deal of effort was made to ensure that all were recorded.