St Columba's Church

This memorial was originally sited in Merridale Road Presbyterian Church which stood on the corner of Merridale Road and Lord Street, Chapel Ash. The idea of a memorial to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Great War was first mooted in the church council on 11th December 1918 and it was subsequently decided that appeals would be made from the pulpit and that every member of the congregation would be approached personally and asked if they would make a donation. The design was approved by the church council just before Christmas 1921 and the cost agreed at ‘about’ £130. Originally promised by the end of March 1922, there seems to have been a number of delays, much to the frustration of the church council, the memorial finally being unveiled by the Mayor of Wolverhampton at the end of July that year. Although the memorial clearly indicates that those commemorated once worshiped at the church, none of the men who died in the Great War are recorded in the church communion records, several had relatives who were church members but curiously five of them have surnames which are not mentioned in these records. It maybe that they were related to members on their mother’s side but perhaps stranger still is the fact that Captain Percy Rogers who was killed on 27th May 1918 is not on the memorial yet the church elders saw fit to issue a letter of condolence to his parents who were members.

 

First World War Memorial.

 

 

 

 

Second World War Memorial.

 

 

Pictures and information kindly provided by Roy Evans ©


 

 

 


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