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Burnley War Memorial is situated in Towneley Park, approximately 100 metres to the east of Towneley Hall. The memorial was unveiled by Lord Derby in 1926 in a ceremony attended by a crowd estimated at over 30000 people.
The Towneley Park war memorial is a Portland stone cenotaph which merges into carved busts of a soldier, airman and sailor. On each side are bronze female figures representing wives, sisters or mothers. There are also some interesting symbols used in the design such as the rosemary bush for remembrance and the cricket bat representing the men’s boyhood. In front of the memorial is a reflective pool surrounded by paving and grass.
The design was produced by Walter Henry Gilbert, the lesser known cousin of the famous sculptor Sir Alfred Gilbert. Gilbert said that he had endeavoured to conceive a memorial that shall breathe nothing of slaughter, but only of duty fulfilled and by fulfilment of duty, the comfort and thankfulness brought to those who remain (Link War Memorials Trust).
DSC_0068
Burnley War Memorial is situated in Towneley Park, approximately 100 metres to the east of Towneley Hall. The memorial was unveiled by Lord Derby in 1926 in a ceremony attended by a crowd estimated at over 30000 people.
The Towneley Park war memorial is a Portland stone cenotaph which merges into carved busts of a soldier, airman and sailor. On each side are bronze female figures representing wives, sisters or mothers. There are also some interesting symbols used in the design such as the rosemary bush for remembrance and the cricket bat representing the men’s boyhood. In front of the memorial is a reflective pool surrounded by paving and grass.
The design was produced by Walter Henry Gilbert, the lesser known cousin of the famous sculptor Sir Alfred Gilbert. Gilbert said that he had endeavoured to conceive a memorial that shall breathe nothing of slaughter, but only of duty fulfilled and by fulfilment of duty, the comfort and thankfulness brought to those who remain (Link War Memorials Trust).