11 November – The Armistice

Although 'Armistice' is commemorated on the nearest Sunday to 11 November, it is actually on this day in history that fighting in the Great War stopped i.e. at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.

With our War Memorial currently cordoned off, it might be interesting to reflect that in 1920 a 'War Memorial Committee' was established, and who met in December of that year (recorded in The Cheshire Observer, 4 December).

In the aftermath of the Great War, relatives needed a focus for their grief, loss and pride.

The siting of the Tattenhall War Memorial was originally proposed for Church Bank, but it was agreed that this should be put before a public meeting.

The War Memorial, subsequently erected adjacent to the Barbour Institute, was unveiled on 26 July 1922.

Research undertaken whilst writing 'Tattenhall – A Community United by War', confirms a total of 57 local casualties:

• 46 casualties of The Great War
• 11 casualties of WWII

Every attempt was made to research and cross reference all known casualties. Inevitably there are omissions and Service Records are sometimes unknown.

Tracing all known casualties is extremely challenging. Too frequently, records are lost or incomplete. In September 1940, for example, approximately 60% of British Army records from the Great War were destroyed when enemy bombs hit the War Office warehouse (the Army Records Centre), located on Arnside Street, London. Furthermore, many soldiers did not record their first names, some used only their initials, whilst others used nicknames or diminutive names.

Tattenhall Local History considers that Tattenhall lost 57 of its men. Others, of course, were lost in Burwardsley (12) and in Handley (3), where sister Churches to St Alban's are located.

IN GRATITUDE TO ALL WHO SERVED.