Brierley Hill War Memorial

The Grade II listed War Memorial was unveiled on the 12th November 1921 by a party of local clergy and civic dignitaries. It commemorates the dead of the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War, Cyprus Emergency and Malayan Emergency.

The initial design for the monument was by Councillor JT Fereday and this was elaborated by Francis Lane, a preacher and local businessman and it was carved by George Brown & sons of Kidderminster. Limestone has been used for the platform, with grey granite for the plinth and Sicilian marble used for the columns to the corners, the relief panels and the statue.

Each face of the plinth is divided into two stages, both of which have columns to the corners. The stages are divided by a lintel, above which is set a carved relief panel, showing service activity, and below which are carved the 205 names of the fallen from the First World War.

The north face differs in having the following inscription: ‘IN GRATITUDE & ADMIRATION / THIS MONUMENT / WAS ERECTED BY THEIR FELLOW / TOWN FOLK TO THE MEMORY OF / BRIERLEY HILL MEN / WHO LOYALLY GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN DEFENCE OF / COUNRTY AND CIVILIZATION / AGAINST THE AGGRESSIVE / AMBITIONS OF / GERMANY, / AUSTRIA & TURKEY / IN THE GREAT WAR / WHICH LASTED / FROM / AUGUST 4TH 1914 / TO / NOVEMBER 11TH 1918. / THEIR NAME / LIVETH / FOR EVERMORE’.

Above this, the relief panel shows men going over the top from trenches into no-man’s land. On the lintel is inscribed ‘FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS’ and to the plinth is the word ‘FLANDERS’.

The west side has a weathered relief panel, showing the Arethusa which, having sunk a German warship, is sending out its boats to rescue the survivors. On the lintel below this is inscribed ‘FOR HOMELAND’ and on the plinth ‘GALLIPOLI’.

The relief on the east side shows artillery in action and the lintel is inscribed ‘FOR KINDRED’, and the plinth ’PALESTINE’.

The south side shows a wounded man on a stretcher being tended and the words ‘FOR FREEDOM’ on the lintel and ‘FRANCE’ on the plinth.

The statue of the soldier above shows him in uniform, charging with bayonet fixed. The ex-servicemen’s committee was asked to select one of their number to pose for the statue. They chose Stanley Harley, the first Brierley Hill man to be awarded the DCM.

In the space between the platform and the kerb later, angled tablets have been placed, commemorating the dead from the Second World War, the Korean War, the Cyprus and Malayan Emergencies and there is a tablet of the fallen listed on the Delph War Memorial . The kerb has three cast iron mace finials to each side, which now support later panels of wrought iron, but perhaps originally had decorative chains. It is inscribed on its south face with the wording ‘G BROWN & SONS / SCULPTORS / KIDDR. & ST.BRIDGE.’

The War Memorial and associated gardens were repaired and restored in 2022 thanks to funding through the Brierley Hill High Street Heritage Action Zone.