C is for Charles Cummings' Commemorative Cross in Cheadle Churchyard

In St Mary's churchyard, Cheadle is the stump of a 14th/15th century sandstone cross It was restored in the 19th century as a memorial to Charles James Cummings as described on a copper commemorative plaque.

The plaque reads:

THIS CROSS WAS RESTORED BY LOVING FRIENDS
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN MEMORY OF CHARLES JAMES CUMMINGS, M.A,
FOR 26 YEARS RECTOR OF CHEADLE.
HE DIED 10th OCT.1873.AGED 52 YEARS.

It is Grade II listed and described as

Red sandstone. Square shaft with chamfered corners with bar stops at base. Each face has a small niche with cusped head and continuous hoodmould. The upper stage diminishes and is terminated by a weathering. The top is missing. Moulded square base with copper commemorative plaque.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

W is for Wilf Wood

A plaque on the wall of the foyer at Stockport station reads:PRIVATE WILF WOOD V.C.

Remembering the life of railwayman Wilf Wood who was awarded the
Victoria Cross for an act of most conspicuous bravery and initiative
on 28 October 1918 near Casa Van in Italy.

A unit on the right flank having been held up by hostile machine gunners
and snipers, Private Wood worked forward with his Lewis gun, enfiladed
the enemy machine gun nest and caused 140 enemy to surrender. The advance
continued until a hidden machine gun opened fire at point blank range.
Without a moment's hesitation, Private Wood charged, firing his Lewis gun
from the hip, and enfiladed a ditch from which a further
160 men and 3 officers duly surrendered.

A cleaner at Stockport locomotive depot, Wilf survived the Great War
and spent his entire working life on the railways. He had the honour
of a steam locomotive being named after him and enjoyed a long
retirement before his death in January 1982 at the age of 84.

He is remembered in Hazel Grove by Wetherspoon's who named their Freehouse after the local hero. A plaque on the wall reads:THE
WILFRED
WOOD

These licensed premises stand on the site
of a Primitive Methodist Chapel (erected in 1897
and demolished in the 1960s) and are named after
Private Wilfred Wood V.C, who was awarded the Victoria
Cross "for conspicuous gallantry" in the First World
War. On his return home to Hazel Grove, Wood
was given a civic reception at the Mechanics
Institute, now the Civic Hall, next
door to this building.

These premises were refurbished
by J.D.Wetherspoon
in September 2010.

He is depicted on the inn sign.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and signs, signs.

War Memorial tablet in St Thomas's, Hillgate

Previous posts have shown
The outside of St Thomas's;
The inside of St Thomas's;
The stained glass at St Thomas's.

On one wall of the church is a memorial reading:
"This tablet is erected in grateful and loving memory of the above named
men of St Thomas's church and parish who laid down their lives in the Great War 1914-1919"
Beneath it is a Votive Candle stand where those who wish to may light a candle for someone who is ill or in need, or to mark an anniversary.

The nearby Memorial Book contains names of former parishioners and worshippers who are remembered in the prayers on their anniversary, every year.

The names listed in the four panels of the war memorial are:
Charles Adams
Fred Adams
Walter Barnet
Walter Birchenough
Stephen Blackshaw
William D Blackshaw
Frederick Brady
James Briggs
James Broadhurst
John T Brocklehurst
Henry Brown
Harry C Buckland
Edward Burgess
Ernest Clarke
Frank Corlett
James Cumston
Joseph Davenport
John Davies
William Donbavand
John Edward Dudley
Henry Edge
Vincent Fletcher
Joseph Barlow

***

Joseph Fox
Harold Garner
William Garner
Ernest Gibson
Frank Gorst
Edwin Gray
William Greenhalgh
George Kinsey Gresty
William Thomas Hague
Herbert Hamer
John Harrison
William Hayes
John Hester
John Holmes
Herbert Hooley
Sidney Hulme
Charles Jackson
Joshua Jackson
William Jackson
Arthur Jordan
Alfred Kaye

***

George Kinder
Edward Kirkpatrick
Samuel Knowles
Francis Knight
Neville Lewis
Joseph Littlewood
John Taylor Lomax
George Ludlow
Henry Marsden
George Mather
Joseph Mather
Thomas Blackshaw Mather
Alfred Moore
Henry Moore
John William Mott
George Mottram
Frederick Oldham
William Oldham
John Pearson
Davenport Pennington
George Potts
Percy Pratt
William McCarthy

***

Frederick Pyott
Henry Salt
John Joshua Savage
William Edward Shepherdson
Gerald Slack
Ernest Smith
Isaac Smith
George Southam
Frederick Swain
Alfred Thorley
John Thorley
Mark Thorley
Walter Thorley
Harold G Townley
Robert Travis
Robert Arthur Walley
Edmund Ward
Richard Waterfield
Frank Watts
Charles Wilkinson
Charles Williamson
George Wilson
Visit the Church website for more information on St Thomas's.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

Armoury Blue Plaque

Yesterday I posted photographs of the Stockport Volunteer Armoury.

A Blue Plaque on the tower was unveiled in 2007 by the Stockport Heritage Trust.

A contribution to signs, signs.

N is for Norbury Parish Church and burial ground

Dedicated to St Thomas, the present church dates mainly from 1833. There are some 4000 graves in the churchyard which was first opened for burials in 1834 and has continued in use right up to the present day. All the spaces available for new burials have now been used.

More information on the Church website.

A contribution to Outdoor Wednesday and ABC Wednesday.

Hopes Carr: Stockport Air Disaster Memorial

On Sunday 4th June 1967 a Canadair C-4 Argonaut aircraft owned by British Midland Airways, en-route from Palma de Mallorca to Manchester crashed at Hopes Carr, a small open area off Hillgate. Local people rescued 10 passangers, a stewardess and the pilot before flames engulfed the aircraft. The remaining 72 people aboard perished in the flames.

A memorial plaque at the corner of Hopes Carr and Waterloo Road was unveiled by two survivors of the crash in 1998. It reads:
IN MEMORY
OF THE
SEVENTY TWO PASSENGERS
AND CREW
WHO LOST THEIR LIVES
IN THE
STOCKPORT AIR DISASTER
4th JUNE 1967

A second memorial dedicated to the rescuers was unveiled in 2002. It reads:
This memorial
is dedicated to those involved
in the rescue and who gave aid at the
Stockport Air Disaster
4th June 1967.

All were faced with the true horror
of tragedy and did not turn away.

Their courage saved
twelve lives.

The area has remained virtually untouched since the disaster but an area regeneration plan conceived in 2008 planned the creation of 350 apartments and 5000 sqm of commercial space with the memorials being moved to a "peace garden" overlooking the Hempshaw Valley. So far only 46 new homes have been built in the area and the memorials remain where they are.

For ABC Wednesday.

Stepping Hill Stone

Memorial stone set in a flower bed at the entrance to Stepping Hill Hospital.

The plaque reads "This stone commemorates the establishment of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April 2004. Dedicated to serving the people of Stockport and the High Peak."

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.