This war memorial web site is dedicated to the memory of David Irving of Halewood (pictured left).   

After a long battle with illness, David 'Izzy' Irving passed away on 26 July 2012 at the age of only forty-six. Dave was in frequent contact with myself and I was so sorry to hear the sad news of his passing.   He frequently contributed to my Halewood website (www.halewood.org.uk) and we had numerous long phone calls going over details regarding the men of the war memorial.   In fact, I held back from putting much of his research online, as I kept encouraging him to get it published; I felt it should appear under his own name before the web site. I feel especially sad that this didn’t happen.

Out of the blue he would call me,  sometimes to add precious detail to some of my other interest areas, especially general Halewood history, but also detail about the Farndon war memorial in the village where I now live (www.farndon.org.uk). Some of the Farndon information I was truly amazed that he had turned up, entirely unrequested, but just reflected his kindness and keenness to help me out.  I miss his phone calls, his valuable help and his humour.  I had lists of places he wanted me to visit on my next Battlefields trip. I did so, and photographed them all, and the results are within these pages.   His help therefore, on identifying those on the Halewood Memorial was invaluable,  together with detailed background information on many of them. Consequently, this site has clearly benefited from his input and stands here in memory of a fine gentleman.

Condolences to his wife Karen and children Oliver, Jacob and Isobel.  My 81 year old mother Hazel (who passed away on 27 December 2013) sang in the St Nicholas church choir at the funeral.

Mike Royden

Dave was an avid fan of history forums and he is remembered on the Great War Forum and WW2 Talk - click both to view the messages in memorium.
[Thanks to his cousin Paul Gardiner for additional information and the photograph of their battlefields trip above – Dave was able to make his only visit before he became too ill.]

Soldiers not on the Memorial

Research has revealed that there are men who were not recorded on the war memorial. Occasionally, new items appear in the local press drawing attention to the fact that a name has been missed off, and that the local authorities are being contacted with a view to putting the anomaly right. However, this is actually nothing unusual, although of course it is perfectly understandable that descendants wish to see the name of their family member added in due course.

Although the national memorials had been organised by central government, the decision of how to remember those from local communities who had given their lives were largely left to local town and parish councils. There was also the problem of who to include, as there was no central body from which a list could be obtained. Instead, the collation of names for inclusion on the memorial was carried out by the committee responsible for the memorial's erection by a variety of ways, which included door-to-door enquiries, leaflets through letter boxes, church announcements, articles in the local press, or by word of mouth. The committee usually defined the criteria for who could be added. In some cases, there were strict geographic boundaries, whilst others were a little more flexible. Because there was no centralised organisation, much of the information regarding how local committees proceeded no longer exists. Some minutes have been preserved, whilst information can also be gleaned from local newspapers or parochial histories, especially those mentioning unveiling ceremonies.

There was often controversy, ranging from a number of Catholics who objected to the siting of memorials in front of, or within, the bounds of Anglican parish churches, to those who couldn't agree on the what form the memorial should take. Then there was often much discussion on whether certain names should be left off - especially deserters and those shot for cowardice.

The omission of names, therefore, was not uncommon, especially when the onus may have been with the bereaved family to notify the committee to include their soldier's name. Sometimes, families wanted to move on, and life's priorities were elsewhere. Other families moved away from the area to find work. Frequently, for those who were missing on the battlefield, inscribing the name on a memorial was final acceptance by the family that their loved one would not be coming home, and for some who still held out hope, this was more than they could bear. Private Pemberton, pictured, was just such a man, whose family believed he was a prisoner of war, until finally accepting he would not be coming home.

Whatever the reason for omission, it is also intended to gradually add such local men to the website. Maybe they too can be added to the actual memorial in the future.

Education

Coach parties of pupils from The Whitby High School are taken over to the Battlefields on a regular basis, for a comprehensive four day trip. The author of this site has been one of the leaders for the past decade or more, and is the guide for all the battlefield tours. Many of the students have previously carried out research on soldiers of local memorials, and follow this up by trying to discover their soldiers's resting place or memorial in Belgium or France.

Some of the pupils visiting the Battlefields are also keen to find their own ancestors, and we have successfully traced numerous family members, in addition to carrying out preparation work on the family tree and the soldiers's war record before leaving the UK. We have also traced several ancestors of staff too. On our final evening in Belgium we have had the honour each time to lead the ceremony at the Menin Gate, with pupils reciting the eulogy, and laying down the first wreath, in memory, of course, of the the men of the local war memorial.

Cemeteries and Memorials

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