大象传媒

Introduction

This article has been submitted to the 大象传媒 鈥淧eople鈥檚 War鈥� website by Joseph Ritson, a volunteer story-gatherer with the 大象传媒 Radio Cumbria CSV Action Desk group of volunteers. It is about the dedication of a new War Memorial at Cleator Moor, Cumbria in November 2005. Information for the article was obtained mainly from Mr Arthur P. Baxter, Chairman of Cleator Moor Town Council, and included with his permission. The author has read and understood the terms of the 大象传媒 鈥淧eople鈥檚 War鈥� website.

On Remembrance Sunday afternoon 13 November 2005, Cleator Moor obtained its own War Memorial, for the first time commemorating the sacrifices of the sons and daughters of Cleator Moor in all conflicts. There are War Memorials at some of the churches in the town commemorating their parishioners who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the World Wars, but this is the first memorial dedicated to all the townsfolk in one place.

Dedicating the Memorial

Mr Arthur Baxter, Chairman of the Town Council told me that for some years several townsfolk had suggested to the Town Council that there should be a single War Memorial in the town that could act as a focus for everyone. Around the time of the Millennium (1999 / 2000) there had been discussions as to what form any memorial should take, where it should be located and whether any such memorial should list the names of the townsfolk who died in the two World Wars.

Eventually, the Town Council had decided a new War Memorial should be commissioned, and that it should be sited in a prominent location in Cleator Moor Square, right in the town centre next to the various civic buildings, such as the Civic Hall. It was also decided not to put any specific names on the memorial, for various reasons. For example, sometimes a person is accidentally missed off any such list and this can cause additional unnecessary distress for any relatives of that person. Also, it was decided that although most people still focus on the World Wars, particularly at Remembrance time, the memorial should be dedicated in such a way that it commemorated the sacrifices made in all conflicts.

The year 2005 was an appropriate year to dedicate the new memorial at Cleator Moor as it was the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War Two. A local West Cumbrian sculptor from Maryport, Colin Telfer, was given the commission to construct the Memorial. It was decided that Remembrance Sunday, 13 November 2005 would be an appropriate day on which to hold the dedication, and that all the community, young and old, should be involved in the dedication to remember in years to come what the memorial represents.

The dedication on Remembrance Sunday

Part of the dedication involved an ecumenical service in Cleator Moor Methodist Church. It was conducted by the Free Church Minister, Reverend Nan Pryde, and also involved the Reverend Andy McCarthy (Anglican) and Reverend Father Jim Burns (Roman Catholic). The names of the known casualties from the Cleator Moor area in both World Wars were read out at the service.

In addition to the veterans of World War Two and other conflicts, young people of the area were involved in the service. In fact, the parade around the Town Square was led by the local Army Cadets and Whitehaven Sea Cadets. Representatives from both these groups laid poppy wreaths at the Memorial during the dedication service at the Memorial.

The memorial depicts a nurse treating a seated wounded soldier in World War One uniform. The Memorial commemorates the victims of all conflicts and not just World War Two, or World War One. In front of the two figures is a tablet on which is written the following inscription:
"To the Glory of God and to remember the sacrifices given by those to all conflicts".

Conclusion

I would like to thank Mr Arthur Baxter, Chairman of Cleator Moor Town Council for helping provide details about both the War Memorial and the service itself. It has been designed specifically to provide a focus for those who made great sacrifices in all conflicts, including medical personnel, civilians and families of service personnel killed or wounded.

Although the memorial covers more than the World War Two years, as the 大象传媒 "People's War" deals with that period, I would like to dedicate this article to those residents of Cleator and Cleator Moor who made the ultimate sacrifice between 1939 and 1945. From November 2005 onwards, to coincide with the 60th Anniversary of that conflict, there is a Memorial to commemorate the sacrifice.

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