Hartshill War Memorial, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire

This is quite intriguing. The Imperial War Museum Archive entry for the memorial notes that the name had been removed by 2001 - http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.38409/fromUkniwmSearch/1 . This appears to be confirmed by a transcription of the roll of honour produced around the same time, which clearly jumps from T. W. Hand to W. Henshall - http://www.exploringthepotteries.org.uk/Nof_website1/local_history_static_exhibitions/war_memorials/pages/hartshill02.htm . Ive also spoken to someone who has been involved with Holy Trinity Church for almost 50 years and he has no recollection of any planned changes to the memorial during this time.

It would seem, therefore, that the name has been absent for some time. Quite why it was removed is unclear, although the crude execution adds further to my belief that it was not done officially. We (the Citys Heritage team) regard such memorials as historic artefacts, so even if a name had been added erroneously or incorrectly, we would not advocate that the monument be altered; at most we would seek to account for the mistake by some other, non-destructive means, such as an accompanying label or sign.

Unfortunately, I cant find any images of the memorial in its original form, so the identity of the deleted individual remains unknown. Im informed, however, that there is another roll of honour inside the church, which I now plan to visit in the hope that it provides further information. In the meantime, Ive undertaken a very quick search of the Commonwealth War Graves website for potential candidates and have a few possibles from the local area that could fit into the alphabetical sequence:

Pte. William Heath, North Staffordshire Regiment, d. 29/07/1916 aged 26. Son of Mary A. Heath of 117 Victoria Street, Hartshill.

Pte. Bertie Hemmings, North Staffordshire Regiment, d. 21/03/1918 aged 26. Son of Mr & Mrs T. Hemmings of 634 Hartshill Road, Hartshill.

Pte. Thomas Hemmings, North Staffordshire Regiment, d. 19/11/1916 aged 34. Son of George & Sarah Hemmings of 9 Stoke Old Road, Hartshill.

None of the above appear on the external memorial, but may feature on the roll of honour inside the church. There is a Lance Corporal J. Heeks commemorated elsewhere on the churchyard memorial, but the missing name clearly held the rank of private.

Ill let you know if I find out more and would be interested in learning of any information that you come across.

Click to expand...