Clifton Diocese Contributes to National War Memorials Project
The Clifton Diocese was recently contacted by the Imperial War Museum to
see if we could assist in a national project. The United Kingdom
National Inventory of War Memorials is being compiled by the museum
with the aim of enabling families to trace their loved ones and to
become a source of information should restoration of a memorial be
needed.
Ron Snook from Knowle in Bristol became aware of the National Inventory of War Memorials and soon offered his assistance. But things have moved on and he now finds himself as County Coordinator. He said:
“I seem to have slipped into the role of County Coordinator for the former Avon area. I have been blessed with a small number of keen volunteer surveyors who have worked extremely hard”.
Ron wrote to the Diocese so that he could make contact with all our Churches and could be advised if they have memorials in their buildings.
Ron, who during his working life was involved in the stained glass industry and worked on the windows at St Bernadette’s Whitchurch, Bristol, added “help is needed to ensure that no memorial is overlooked and that they are all visited and recorded”.
Recently three memorials in churches of the Clifton Diocese have been recorded. The memorials can be found at the Cathedral; St Bernadette’s, Whitchurch, Bristol; St Michael's, Tetbury and St Joseph’s, Weston-super-Mare.
War memorials are a familiar site in the landscape of the United Kingdom. They provide insight into not only the changing face of commemoration but also social and art history. There are an estimated 54,000 war memorials throughout the UK with over 800 in the former county of Avon recorded to date. Memorials can be found in many differing forms, from the frequently-seen community crosses or plaques to buildings, lych gates, gardens, hospitals, organs, chapels and windows. The UK National Inventory of War Memorials database provides for the first time a UK wide database of these memorials commemorating all conflicts, not just those of the First and Second World War.
The Inventory is run by two full-time members of staff but the collection of data has been carried out almost entirely by a vast team of volunteers one of whom being Ron Snook, who have completed standard recording forms and taken photographs. These volunteers include local and family history groups, schools and colleges, parish councils and various veterans’ organisations. Some have sent information on one local memorial, others have tirelessly searched countywide, through parish records and newspaper archives to collate a thorough survey of large areas of the country.
Attempts had been made previously to carry out a survey of war memorials. In 1921 the Imperial War Museum launched an appeal for photographs of memorials but the response was poor and no other attempt was made to record this unparalleled programme of construction. Consequently, no centralised record was ever made of exactly what was being erected, where and by whom.
Over 70 years later, concern was starting to be expressed as to the condition of some memorials and the fear that they would be lost for ever, a fate which unfortunately had already befallen some. As a result, the UK National Inventory of War Memorials was established in 1989 to try and record these memorials of the First World War, and all other historic conflicts. Based at the Imperial War Museum, this was a joint initiative between the Museum and the Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England, now merged with English Heritage.
The volunteer surveyors in west of England have come up with their own locations of memorials, completed forms, listed names and supplied black and white photographs, whilst others have done the same when the coordinator has allocated sites and advised them of contact names and telephone numbers. This ensures that access is possible to buildings on sites and avoids duplication.
If you know of other memorials in diocesan buildings or would like to know more about the project, please write to Mr Ron Snook, the County of Avon Coordinator, at 59 Sylvia Avenue, Knowle, Bristol, BS3 5BU. Telephone number 0117 977 5129. The Imperial War Museum website has much more information about the project.
Ron Snook & Tom Bigwood
Useful URL : http://www.iwm.org.uk
Ron Snook from Knowle in Bristol became aware of the National Inventory of War Memorials and soon offered his assistance. But things have moved on and he now finds himself as County Coordinator. He said:
“I seem to have slipped into the role of County Coordinator for the former Avon area. I have been blessed with a small number of keen volunteer surveyors who have worked extremely hard”.
Ron wrote to the Diocese so that he could make contact with all our Churches and could be advised if they have memorials in their buildings.
Ron, who during his working life was involved in the stained glass industry and worked on the windows at St Bernadette’s Whitchurch, Bristol, added “help is needed to ensure that no memorial is overlooked and that they are all visited and recorded”.
Recently three memorials in churches of the Clifton Diocese have been recorded. The memorials can be found at the Cathedral; St Bernadette’s, Whitchurch, Bristol; St Michael's, Tetbury and St Joseph’s, Weston-super-Mare.
War memorials are a familiar site in the landscape of the United Kingdom. They provide insight into not only the changing face of commemoration but also social and art history. There are an estimated 54,000 war memorials throughout the UK with over 800 in the former county of Avon recorded to date. Memorials can be found in many differing forms, from the frequently-seen community crosses or plaques to buildings, lych gates, gardens, hospitals, organs, chapels and windows. The UK National Inventory of War Memorials database provides for the first time a UK wide database of these memorials commemorating all conflicts, not just those of the First and Second World War.
The Inventory is run by two full-time members of staff but the collection of data has been carried out almost entirely by a vast team of volunteers one of whom being Ron Snook, who have completed standard recording forms and taken photographs. These volunteers include local and family history groups, schools and colleges, parish councils and various veterans’ organisations. Some have sent information on one local memorial, others have tirelessly searched countywide, through parish records and newspaper archives to collate a thorough survey of large areas of the country.
Attempts had been made previously to carry out a survey of war memorials. In 1921 the Imperial War Museum launched an appeal for photographs of memorials but the response was poor and no other attempt was made to record this unparalleled programme of construction. Consequently, no centralised record was ever made of exactly what was being erected, where and by whom.
Over 70 years later, concern was starting to be expressed as to the condition of some memorials and the fear that they would be lost for ever, a fate which unfortunately had already befallen some. As a result, the UK National Inventory of War Memorials was established in 1989 to try and record these memorials of the First World War, and all other historic conflicts. Based at the Imperial War Museum, this was a joint initiative between the Museum and the Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England, now merged with English Heritage.
The volunteer surveyors in west of England have come up with their own locations of memorials, completed forms, listed names and supplied black and white photographs, whilst others have done the same when the coordinator has allocated sites and advised them of contact names and telephone numbers. This ensures that access is possible to buildings on sites and avoids duplication.
If you know of other memorials in diocesan buildings or would like to know more about the project, please write to Mr Ron Snook, the County of Avon Coordinator, at 59 Sylvia Avenue, Knowle, Bristol, BS3 5BU. Telephone number 0117 977 5129. The Imperial War Museum website has much more information about the project.
Ron Snook & Tom Bigwood
Useful URL : http://www.iwm.org.uk
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