Located in neighbourhoods, schools, businesses, parks and churches, Liverpool is home to many war memorials that commemorate the huge sacrifice of service men and women, and their families in conflicts throughout the world.
Our suggested trail highlights some of the memorials that can be found across the city centre.
The Liverpool Pals Memorial, Liverpool Lime St Station
Commissioned by The Liverpool Pals Memorial Fund and funded through donations, the Liverpool Pals memorial pays tribute to those who volunteered and served during World War One. Unveiled in 2014 by HRH The Earl of Wessex, it tells the story of the Liverpool Pals through a series of dramatic friezes designed and sculpted by Liverpool artist, Tom Murphy.
Liverpool Cenotaph, St George’s Plateau
Designed by Lionel Budden, Liverpool Cenotaph was unveiled in 1930. Awarded Grade II listing status in 1952, the memorial has more recently been raised to Grade I listing by English Heritage in 2013. It portrays the story of sacrifice and loss suffered by the people of Liverpool through beautiful and poignant artistry and design. There are only two other Grade I listed war memorials in the UK, the Cenotaph in Whitehall and the memorial in Victoria Park, Leicester, both of which were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Liverpool Scottish Regiment Book of Remembrance, St George’s Hall
This fine book, bound in gilt-tooled red morocco leather and placed in a bronze glazed compartment, is on permanent display at St George’s Hall. Located in the Power and Glory Room, two pages are open at any one time.
Liverpool Kings Regiment Monument, St John’s Gardens
Designed by Sir William Goscombe John and unveiled in 1905 by Field Marshall Sir George White, this granite and bronze sculpture commemorates the fallen of the Kings Regiment from three conflicts: the Anglo-Afghan War (1878-80), the second Burmese War (1885-87) and the South African War (1899-1902).
Other Memorials in St John’s Gardens
Sometimes referred to as the ‘Peace Gardens’, St John’s Gardens lie behind St George’s Hall and contains many notable statues and memorials. Commemorating local figures, the fallen and veterans of many conflicts, they include the 8th Army Memorial Plaque, French POW Memorial Plaque, Air Forces Memorial Plaque, Cheshire Regiments, The Liverpool Scottish, Korea, Allied Forces Normandy, British Nuclear Test Veterans, Royal Green Jackets, Victims of Persecution, and Tansy RQMS alongside The Liverpool Scottish.
Liverpool Post Office Staff Memorial, Metquarter, Victoria St
Erected in honour of those members of the Liverpool Post Office Staff who fell in the Great War 1914-1918, the carved statue of a woman holding a poppy in her hand symbolises Britain mourning her dead. Sculpted by artist Herbert Tyson Smith the memorial was unveiled in 1924.
The Unknown Soldier, Liverpool Cotton Association Memorial, Exchange Flags
Commissioned in 1922 by the International Cotton Association (ICA), known then as the Liverpool Cotton Association, the bronze statue of the Unknown Soldier was originally situated in Liverpool’s Cotton Exchange Building on Old Hall Street. To be closer to the ICA’s new office in Walker House, the memorial was relocated to Exchange Flags in 2013. As part of the relocation, a new plaque was cast to accompany the statue, dedicated to the 423 men from the Association who lost their lives during both World Wars.
News Room Memorial, Exchange Flags
Funded by donations raised from members of the Liverpool Exchange Company in 1916 and originally intended to be dedicated to those members who had joined the forces, the emphasis of the memorial changed at the end of WW1 to commemorate members and sons who had sacrificed their lives. Made of bronze and marble by artist Joseph Phillips, the sculpture features Britannia sheltering a young girl alongside a Queen Mary Auxiliary Services nurse tending a wounded soldier. Unveiled in 1924, the sculpture was moved to its current location in 1953.
You can also visit the Roll of Honour website here.
The Hall of Remembrance, Liverpool Town Hall, High Street
Opened in 1921 by the Duke of Windsor, The Hall of Remembrance is home to the City’s Roll of Honour which carries the names of over 13,000 military men from Liverpool who died during the First World War. The Hall of Remembrance is open to visitors on set days, for more information call 0151 233 4169 or 0151 233 4221.
Maritime Memorials, Pier Head
There are many memorials, statues and plaques located along the Pier Head and waterfront which commemorate those who served and died in both the Royal and Merchant Navy, together with sailors from other countries who served and died alongside them.
The Liverpool Naval Memorial, erected in memory of merchant sailors who died serving with Royal Navy vessels during the six-year struggle for naval supremacy, is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Merchant Navy Memorial was donated to the city of Liverpool by the Liverpool Retired Merchant Seafarers and comprises an avenue lined with maple trees on Canada Boulevard to form a living memorial to those Canadian sailors who died in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Liverpool Heroes Memorial, Abercromby Square
Commissioned by the Noel Chavasse VC Memorial Association and designed by artist Tom Murphy, this bronze sculpture features Captain Noel Chavasse alongside a stretcher-bearer from the Liverpool Scottish Battalion rescuing a wounded soldier. Unveiled in 2008, the memorial commemorates Captain Noel Chavasse VC & Bar MC, the only man twice awarded the military’s highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross, in the First World War, as well as fifteen other Liverpool-born Victoria Cross recipients.
Copyright Alan M, Flickr
Jet of Iada, Calderstones Park
Located in the Flower Garden of Calderstones Park is a memorial dedicated to Jet of Iada, the first ever search and rescue dog. A German Shepherd, Jet was awarded the Dickin Medal and Medallion of Valour for helping locate and rescue victims of the William Pit Disaster and air raids.
