Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery Greek Street Stockport

The official opening of the Art Gallery and War Memorial, in the presence of His Royal Highness, the Prince Henry, was performed on 15 October 1925. The first foundation stone for the War Memorial was laid in 1923 and contains the following inscription: "In memory of the men of Stockport who fell in the Great War (1914-1918)". It was believed that there would be about 1,700 names to be inscribed to the Memorial, but in fact, after careful scrutiny of casualty lists, reference to official records and the cooperation of relatives, the figure increased to 2,200. Additional tablets were added to the Memorial in 1952 bearing the names of the service people who had lost their lives during the Second World War: 1939-1945. Two more tablets were being added in 1983 bearing the names of service people who lost their lives in the Falklands Campaign, Korea and Northern Ireland.

Previously in 1832, this site had been the home of Stockport Grammar School, which was vacated on the erection of the school at Mile End.

Reference    Builder: 29 June 1923 Page 1076 (tenders)
Reference    Manchester Guardian 17 September 1923 page 9 – foundation stone
Reference    'The Stockport War Memorial', Architectural Review, Vol61 (March 1927). 92-5.
Reference    Catherine Moriarty, The Sculpture of Gilbert Ledward (2003), pages 45-7.
Reference    Terry Wyke, Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester (2004), pages 346-7.
Reference    Manchester Guardian 15 October 1925 page 10 - opening