Local Church Memorials

[RammyLad1]

After completing my research for Holcombe Emmanuel church in Ramsbottom, I have started to look at doing something similer with the other churches in the village. I have noticed that the same names appear on different memorials /Rolls of honour.

Would a man be a member of different churches during that period? I understand that religion paid a big part in society at that time. Have you come upon this in your research?

Duncan

[Retlaw]

After completing my research for Holcombe Emmanuel church in Ramsbottom, I have started to look at doing something similer with the other churches in the village. I have noticed that the same names appear on different memorials /Rolls of honour.

Would a man be a member of different churches during that period? I understand that religion paid a big part in society at that time. Have you come upon this in your research?

Duncan

The fact that men appear of different churches R-O-H is common in Greater Accrington, some churches included every man who lived within what they deemed as their parish, whether the man attended that church or not, many never even lived in the parish or town but were sponsored by a relative, the same applies to memorials & rolls of Glory, in some cases it was who could get the most names on their rolls of honour.

Got one bloke called Bolton on 4 different memorials. The Sacred Heart in Accrington had several R-O-H published, they once claimed to have over 1700 men serving in the colours but when sorted in a database it turned out to be under 1000, so many double entries and spelling mistakes, you couldn't believe it.

Retlaw.

[Sandie Hayes]

Hi Duncan,

It's fairly common. Some of the men I've researched have appeared on 2 or 3. One of the men is recorded on a church memorial about 5 miles from his home and I thought I had the wrong man but I later found out his father played the organ there when the regular organist was unavailable.

In the cases of the men I've researched all of them had some type of link with the church i.e. attended one church on Sunday but was socially involved in the other.

I only have one of example of where I can find only a tentative link. The soldier died in 1918 but had moved away from the parish much earlier. His Grandfather lived in the parish and his funeral took place in the church in 1930.

It's very much like men being named on more than one town/district/civic War Memorial, I've come across that numerous times.

Regards,

Sandie

[spoons]

I've come across a few, in one instance I believe the mother worshipped in a different church than the father, presumably for family historic reasons. In another a man was commemorated in the local parish church but also in one a few miles away which was Episcopal rather than church of Scotland and presumably where he worshipped. In yet another, the grandfather was the local laird so it seems that is why he is commemorated there as well as the parish where he lived. Also local well-to-do families sometimes had summer and winter residences so you can expect them to be commemorated in both.

\Spoons

[GrahamC]

Likewise in my research into Buxton Memorials. The town's biggest church, St John's, seems to have virtually everyone named around a large and impressive memorial window - in fact there are more names on that than on the main town Memorial on the Slopes.

Each other parish church has their list of names, but even then there are links between these smaller parishes with many duplication of names. For example see post 8 - here.

[RammyLad1]

So it would appear that this was a common occurance - thanks for confirming. This makes things easier to explain, ie of that parish. There is one lad that is on four different memorials / rolls of honour. Although a common name, John Brooks, I thought it hard to believe that there was four of them !!

Duncan

[rickpreston@nasuwt.net]

i have been doing research in Rochdale/ Heywood area at St Michaels, Bamford (C of E). I came to the conclusion that the critea for the name to be on their war memorial was

1 Lived in the Parish bioth atthe time of his death or in the past irrispective of denomination)

2 Worked in the Parish

3 attended the Church school.

Other denomination in the area ie Methodist and Congregationalist listed only those who were connected to that church and of course where there were the textile mills in the area and if it had a Memorial then only its employees would be listed .

[RammyLad1]

RJ - welcome to the forum, the 3 criteria that you mentioned seem to sum it up, its a shame that most of the works rolls of honour in my area seem to have been lost, one was thrown into a skip !! I have a couple of photos of them from the local heritage society but when you try to enlarge them they are too pixelated to read. It does make you think though that somebody, years ago, would have looked at those names and instantly recognised them and could tell you all about them. Perhaps, tucked away somewhere in a draw is a fifty year old file that someone did to remember their old mates, just as we are doing today.