Hale War Memorial & Village Green

Hale War Memorial was built and erected on the village green in the center of the

village in 1920 to remember the dead of the village of the great war, it was paid for

by Mrs Ireland Blackburne from Hale Hall in the parkland..

This area of the village still has the same triangular road pattern as it did around the

1920s and before, although, not in evidence today, the traffic used to pass in the

Liverpool direction to the right of the green bearing right, past the post office.

It wasn't until 1958, the then Whiston District Rural Council, decided that traffic was

to be re-directed to the left of the green up towards the Childe of Hale Pub, followed

by a sharp right-hand turn past the park entrance. The pavement next to the green

was widened as can be seen in the photographs on this page and comparing them

to each other it can be seen how the pavement and road,, have changed slightly in

width nearer the side of the Post Office.

Although the green was to stay nearly the same shape with the war memorial on,,

the greens looks have slightly altered several times. From yellow privet bushes

being planted by Hale Estates around the green and also the introduction of an

estate iron fence around it, at one point a small gun was placed to the right hand

side of the monument near Mrs Allans old house.

While the green and monument was in it's glory, in it's earlier days, the green was

cared for by Alf Stonehouse, he used to mow the grass area and clip the privet

hedges that were positioned around the edge of the green. Alf Stonehouse also

worked in the parkland assisted by his son Raymond Stonehouse,,Alfs other jobs

included cutting the cricket pitch and the tennis lawns behind Hale Hall for the Estate.

Sadly when Alf passed away, the care of the monument and green was passed

down to one of Alfs other sons,, Doug Stonehouse, who use to live in the lodge in

the park entrance. The usual tasks of caring for the monument by (father and son)

both villagers,included the mowing of the green, clipping of the privet hedges,

brushing the stone monument and cleaning around the curbs. The last known

villager to clean the monument and green would have been Ned Huyton the well

known village sweeper, who lived in the old cottage opposite Webbs Garden

center on the High Street.

During the second World War,, the estate iron fence was removed that surrounded

the green, it was taken away to be recycled into parts to help the war effort, the

canon was removed and placed in Mrs Rogers's garden, probably for safe keeping- next to the Village Hall where it remained for several decades..

Since the second world war non of the previous additions that were removed such as the fence and greenery or

indeed gun/canon were re-installed back onto the green,, this is how it was to remain intil 2004 when it was

renovated under the supervision of a War Memorial Committee overseen by Hale Parish Council. To say there were

no further additions to the memorial since the war, many can remember the small wooden seat on the pavement

facing the memorial along with the triangular rose bed in the center of the green that may have been added earlier

on, around the 1960's or 1970's. The area that now is identified as the green, was infact nothing but waste ground-

common land 100 years ago, around 1900, as can be seen from the last photo in the pop-up gallery..

Walking around the center of the village today near the green, one can appreciate the

Ireland Blackburnes positioning of this memorial for all to see on a daily basis.

It is no wonder, that such an historical location in the village now looks magnificent after it's

restoration in 2004, as it did during the 1920's and 1930's.

Not soon after the memorials restoration, it was to be, that a new gun/canon was

sort. The gun,, a Russian Pack Howitzer which came from Manchester is dated back to 1933,

it was captured by the Germans in WWII were the barrel was converted to a shorter length

The gun now stands to the left of the memorial on the green

 

Although the main link with the memorial and the parkland /estate is the Ireland Blackburnes who paid for the memorial and granted the land for it, other overseen/forgotten or hidden links do exist with the memorial. Links such as: local villagers and the park, such links as Alf Stonehouse as mentioned above, people who once worked at the Hall in the park working as the night time gaurd at the Manor House, the air raid shelter that was located on the right-hand side in front of the now changing rooms, the Italian Prisoners of War that worked around the ladypool stream cleaning it out in the woodland of the Hall, However small the link or connection, of those relatives who are still alive today in the village that can remember such things and people of the time, there is still today some minute, past and current link..

Below are a number of pictures of the memorial and green as it stands to day, in the center of the village. During this picture slide show you can see several night time shots of the lights, that have been included in the renovation of 2004 also it includes several wide shots of how the memorial and green are situated opposite the Park and Post Office.

J. Drysdale

T. Evans

J. Fletcher

Edward Greenwood

E. Greenwood

J. Gill

A. Houghton

T. Houghton

J. Hughs

T. McClean

A. Naylor

R. Need

H. Probyn

T. Travis

R. Travis

T. Wise

R. Woodward

J. Worthington

A. Young

Other names which appear on the monument are:

T. Carney

H. Davies

T. Dennet

A.W. Duffy

T. Farrell

J. Lavin

A.C. Lee

D. Naylor

J. Travis

* This name spelt Brassendale on War Memorial

 

Hale Village Online © 2005-2008

 Online Since December 2005

 

 

The website for the historical village of Hale in Halton