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The Co-operative Building and Shop-fitting department

This memorial is comprised of a bronze plaque incorporating a Roll of Honour listing the names of those employees from the Greater Manchester Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) Buildings and Shopfittings Department who died during the First World War.

The corners of the tablet are enlarged to provide shoulders and feet that are crown moulded on the upper and lower edges. Inscriptions and decorative elements are raised in relief. The upper edges have decorative detailing consisting, in the upper portion, of a ribbon bow in each shoulder connected by a pair of opposing fluted bells interspersed with floral heads to a central ribbon bow; the decoration continues down the sides of the plaque providing a soft frame to the Roll of Honour. The Roll of Honour is enclosed within a sculptured bead effect which mirrors the outline of the tablet. The war years are beneath the bead effect and underscored with additional decorative sculpting. It is located in the Co-operative Funeralcare premises on Cross Lane in Salford.

The memorial was found in a scrap yard in 2009 in poor condition so in 2010 a grant of £2,500 was offered by the Trust towards repair works. This involved cutting away damaged and bent areas which were then individually repaired through applied heat and pressure sustained by brackets and braces; these being then re-welded in place, with reinforcing plate to the rear to provide additional support as required. A rubber mould of the existing upper corner was made and a new corner cast in bronze and welded in place and other minor repairs were undertaken; all welds were softened by fettling. New letters to replace those missing and damaged were cut and fixed in place. Damaged patina was removed and a new patina was applied to match the original colour as closely as possible. Clear micro-crystalline wax was then applied and buffed to provide a protective surface. Following the works the memorial was permanently relocated to Salford.

This memorial was originally located in the Greater Manchester CWS Buildings and Shopfittings Department in Trafalgar Street in Broughton. A reference to the memorial contained In the CWS journal for employees - 'Ourselves', Volume VI, Number 11 dated November 1930 – indicates that the tablet was,

“fixed to the wall of the entrance vestibule to the offices, where it is seen by all, both as they pass the open door or as they enter the premises.”

It further states that the memorial was the focal point for a short Remembrance Day ceremony arranged by ex-Servicemen employees during which a wreath of Flanders poppies was suspended below the memorial, where they remained until renewed the following Remembrance Day. The memorial was moved with the department when it relocated to Vere Street in Salford during 1931 and is recorded as being at this address into the 1980s, during which decade the building was demolished and the record of the memorial was lost. It was later discovered, in 2009, in a Manchester scrapyard where according to staff it had been for some fifteen years.

The memorial is simply inscribed at the head with:

“Roll of Honour”

Beneath which are listed the names of forty-nine employees who died during the First World War, in the format; surname and initials, regiment (some with battalion number) or corps and the official reporting term (killed in action, missing, etc). At the foot are the dates:

“1914 – 1918” 

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM3546
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 45361

War Memorials Online

Roll of Honour

BBC News Manchester article on the restoration

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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