A Lake District community Remembrance Project
.JPG) |
| 1. Patterdale and Glenridding War Memorial (It commemorates the 'Fallen' of two World Wars) [Located near the lake shore of Ullswater, Cumbria] |
.JPG) |
| 2. St Patrick's Bay boat landing at Ullswater (Close to where the war memorial and a holy well is located) [St Patrick landed and preached near this spot] |
.JPG) |
| 3. The snow-clad Helvellyn 'massif' from Patterdale village [The summit, at 950 m / 3,120 ft, is Lakeland's third highest] |
.JPG) |
| 4. Glenridding Beck at Rattlebeck Bridge, Glenridding (Looking towards Sheffield Pike) [Greenside Road to the lead mine is in the middle distance] |
=======================================
posted by ritsonvaljos at 11:17 pm
5 Comments:
Additional information
Ullswater and its main settlements
Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being approximately 9 miles (c. 14.5 kms) in length, ¾ mile (c. 1200 m) wide. The lake is in the N.E. sector of the Lake District National Park. In the modern era the principal economic activities are farming and tourism and until the 1960s it was a major centre of lead mining at Greenside lead mine on the western side of the lake (see later).
The main settlements alongside Ullswater are as follows:
Howtown on the eastern shore;
Pooley Bridge straddling the River Eamont at the northern end of the lake;
Watermillock on the western side of the lake;
Glendding to the south-west of the lake;
Patterdale a little to the south of the lake.
The remainder of this article concentrates on the war memorial of the ‘twin’ villages of Patterdale and Glenridding covering are to the south and south-west of Ullswater.
----------------
Unveiling and dedication of the war memorial
Patterdale and Glenridding War Memorial is situated close the roadside and is approximately midway between the two villages. The memorial takes the form of a large stone with two metal tablets fixed to the front – the upper one lists the names of the ‘Fallen’ of WW1 (21 names) while the lower one lists the names of the ‘Fallen’ of WW2 (8 names) [Photograph No. 1].
Originally, the Patterdale and Glenridding War Memorial was erected to commemorate the ‘Fallen’ of the 1914 – 1918 war. It was unveiled on Sunday 16 October 1921 by the local Member of Parliament for the constituency of Westmorland, Colonel Sir John Weston M.P. (1852 – 1926).
Below is a transcription of the ‘Westmorland Gazette’ newspaper report (21 October 1921) of the unveiling and dedication of the war memorial:
“There is a large open space around the memorial, approached by steps from the road, and on the fellside above the wire fence it is intended to plant suitable flowers. Saturday was an ideal day for the ceremony. The first part of the proceedings took place at the church...The service was conducted by the Reverend W.P. Morris, C.F., Senior Chaplain to the 43rd Division (East Lancashire), and Mr M Place, representing the Wesleyans of the dale read the Lesson.
Colonel Weston stepped forward, withdrew the Union Jack, and saluted the memorial. The Rector dedicated it and read the inscription, and Colonel Weston afterwards addressed the large company. He said - War was always a terrible thing, and he prayed and hoped that never in their time would there be another, but even amid the horrors of war there was a bright side, and that was the magnificent heroism and sacrifice that their gallant young fellows made.
Corporal Wannop, Border Regiment, went on to the hillside above the memorial and sounded the Last Post and the Reveille.”
………….
The original tablet listed 15 local men who lost their lives in the 1914 – 1918 war. Colonel Weston’s hope that there would never be another terrible war proved to be forlorn. In 1939 a Second World War began which lasted until 1945. A further 8 men from the Patterdale and Glenridding area lost their lives in the 1939 – 1945 war and their names were subsequently added to the memorial. Brief details of those listed on the memorial can be seen below.
----------
The area around Patterdale and Glenridding
The name Patterdale is derived from “Patrick’s dale” – the valley of St Patrick, the Romano-British Christian saint of the Dark Ages (also the Patron Saint of Ireland). The war memorial is close to St Patrick’s Holy Well and St Patrick’s Landing Bay – where the saint would land at this end of the lake and preach to the people of the valley. In the modern era St Patrick’s Bay remains a boat-landing place where it is possible to hire motor boats and rowing boats [Photograph No. 2]
The civil parish of Patterdale includes the village of Glenridding. It is a popular place not just for watersports but for also for fell (mountain) walkers. The Helvellyn ‘massif’, including the English lake District’s third highest summit is in the western part of the parish and can be seen from parts of Patterdale village [Photograph No. 3].
Between the mid-1700s until 1962 the Greenside lead mine was operated at Glenridding producing lead and smaller but commercial amounts of silver. The mine is in the upper reaches of the parish alongside Glenridding Beck and the Greenside road leads to Sticks Pass and the Helvellyn mountain range. Glenridding Beck, Greenside road and Sheffield Pike can be seen in Photograph No. 4 (above). Since the closure of the mine this area has also become increasingly popular with walkers especially on the climb or descent to the Helvellyn range.
During both the 1914 – 1918 war and the 1939 – 1945 war the mine was strategically important because of the lead production. During the First World War there were a number of production issues – not least because many of the miners had enlisted to the Armed Forces. There were also financial and production problems between the wars. However, by 1940 Greenside mine was the largest producer of lead ore in Britain and was employing over 200 people.
Towards the end of its working life Greenside mine was used by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment to conduct experiments in detecting and measuring seismic signals from underground explosions. The mine was finally closed in January 1962. Part of the site is now the Helvellyn Youth Hostel (part of the Youth Hostel Association network).
--------------
A special place to remember those who were lost
The small piece of land where the war memorial can be found was donated by one of the main landowners of the valley at that time - William Hibbert Marshall Esq., J.P., D.L. of nearby Patterdale Hall. William Hibbert Marshall was a former High Sheriff (1902) of the county of Westmorland and a kinsman of Sir Cecil Spring Rice (1859 – 1918) British Ambassador to Washington (1912 -1918). It was Sir Cecil Spring Rice who wrote the words of the patriotic hymn often sung at annual Remembrance services throughout the English-speaking world: “I Vow To Thee My Country”.
Could there have been a more comforting location than this for the grieving relatives of the men who died in the World Wars? Its location, within a few paces of St Patrick’s Holy Well, had been a special place for the people of the valley for generations. For the bereaved, hope, like the water from the well of ‘Glorious St Patrick’, is eternal.
The memorial stone was made from a local piece of slate and sculpted on the spot. It is similar in shape to Lakeland’s famous Bowder Stone. When the memorial was first dedicated the road along the valley in front of it was a relatively quiet country road posing few problems for pedestrians. However, in the modern era, with the increasing use of the motor vehicle and the number of tourists coming to the valley, the volume of traffic has increased. The war memorial can still be visited safely while the font of the well is now next to a busy road.
--------------
“Lest We Forget”: those who are remembered
(a) The upper tablet on the Patterdale and Glenridding War Memorial, commemorating the ‘Fallen’ of the 1914 – 1918 war reads as follows:
For King and Country
This stone was erected in memory
of the men of this parish
who fell in the Great War 1914 – 1918
G.R. Bennett
F. Brown
G.R. Cooper
R.W. Hayton
F. Kirkland
E. Lake
C.J. Mason
J.D. Place
J., Pattisnson
J. Routledge
J. Slee
R. Slee
T.H. Wall
J. Wilkinson
G. Readshaw
Lest We Forget”
………………….
(b) The lower tablet on the Patterdale and Glenridding War Memorial, commemorating the ‘Fallen’ of the 1939 – 1945 war reads as follows:
“We also remember
S.W. Curry
T. Hadwin
F. Mallinson
T.H. Murray
H.W. Thompson
A.G. Tallentire
W.C. Wilson
T.W. Wynn
Who gave their lives in
The Second World War 1939 – 1945
---------------------
A Community Project of Remembrance
In 2014, coinciding with the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, Cumbria County Council encouraged its primary schools to research their local communities and war memorials. One of the schools taking part in this project was Patterdale Church of England Primary School. Local children in Years 3 to 6 at the school (aged 7 – 11 years) researched the lives of the individuals listed on the Patterdale and Glenridding War Memorial.
The research, involving online, library and archive records and personal memories was extended to include the lives of the WW2 casualties and about life in the Ullswater valley during the war years. In the summer of 2014 an exhibition summarising the findings of the research was held in the gallery at the Rheged Visitors Centre near Penrith. Some of the work of the children was later exhibited at St Patrick’s Parish Church, Patterdale and in Glenridding Village Hall.
Eventually the project became one for the wider Lake District community of Patterdale and Glenridding. It was taken up by both the Parish Council and St Patrick’s Church. Eventually, the lives of well over 100 men from the parish who enlisted in the First World War have been researched as well as the lives of the 8 local men who died in the Second World War.
The result of this wider community research has included a website and is a fine tribute to the Ullswater community of yesteryear by the present-day community. Click on the following link to access the website:
Patterdale and Glenridding War Memorial Project
---------------
Dedication
This article is dedicated to the people of St Patrick’s dale, Ullswater - Patterdale and Glenridding - who lost their lives in the two World Wars. May they never be forgotten in the fells and dales they knew this side of Eternity.
“I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.”
[Extract from “St Patrick’s Breastplate” (“The Lorica”), attributed to St Patrick, c. 433 A.D.]
--------------------
Acknowledgements
Patterdale Parish Council
‘Westmorland Gazette’
Kendal Archive Office,
Kendal County Offices,
KENDAL,
Cumbria. LA9 4RQ
===============
Post a Comment
<< Home