12/04/10 I have had to downgrade this to a nano. Its a good thing though because the monument looks so much better now and the names on the loco side are no longer out of sight. They were supposed to make the names more readable as some of them are very faded. This does not appear to have happened yet. I would appreciate any loggers giving updates on this please!
The First World War is now disapearing from the nations' collective memory. As far as I know at the time of setting this cache only three British survivors of the conflict remain. Soon all we will have left are the memorials to the fallen. Every town and village has one. Horwich has three, this particular one I think is one of the most visibly striking war memorials you will see so I have put a cache here.
In 1884 the decision was made to to site the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway's Locomotive Works at Horwich. That decision transformed the town, providing ample employment and prosperity for another century. Horwich was a railway town and the vast majority of the areas' young men were employed here.
During World War 1, 800 of the works employees were enlisted to fight, 120 of them never made it home again. This memorial was raised by their colleagues at the gates to the locomotive works. The memorial was made in nearby Adlington was unveiled in August 1921 by George Hughes, chief mechanical engineer at the works. It takes the form of a soldier of the Manchester Regiment dressed in full marching order, holding a rifle in his right hand
In 1983 the works closed (although the huge buildings remain and can be seen from miles away), but the memorial remains. The names of the dead are written on all four sides. What I find rather sad is the names of the dead on the side facing the works now seem to be forgotten as they are almost pushed up against some bushes. At least they are less exposed to the elements as unlike the other three sides the names are easy to read. This is only a recent thing as the photo below shows that the memorial used to be open on all four sides.
A final note concerns the parade. Every year since 1945 on Remembrance Sunday a parade has finished at the memorial where veterans lay wreaths at its base. This year (the 90th anniversary of Armistice) was the first time this did not occur. The reason was that it was not permitted due to "Health and Safety". How times have changed....
