The Rolls of Honour. Where are they?

Whether the symbol is grandiose or humble, our respect in remembering the young men who made the supreme sacrifice by fighting and dying for our country does not change.

From the National Cenotaph in London, and the grand memorials in our cities and towns, down to a simple cross upon a plinth in a remote village, the honour and respect is of equal value.

So it was that in the densely populated poor areas of Manchester, including Ancoats, Miles Platting and Collyhurst, people subscribed to erect a “Roll of Honour” inscribed with the names of those from the community who lost their lives in H.M.Forces. There were quite a number of “Rolls” placed upon the walls within the locality and on Remembrance Day the local people would congregate to pay their respects.
During the period of slum-clearance after the Second World War, it was generally accepted that the Rolls would be stored by the council and at some point displayed within the relevent area of origin. However, they seem to have disappeared! In researching the whereabouts of the missing ‘Rolls’, I’ve heard numerous differing theories of just what happened to them. Suggestions range from them being stored somewhere, destroyed, sold for scrap, and one has been reported as being sold at a flea market!

Local Studies departments at both Manchester Central Library and the Stalybridge Library have been very helpful, but the fate of the missing ‘Rolls of Honour’ is still elusive.

Wherever, or whatever happened to them, it would be criminal if a former city council allowed a piece of our city’s heritage to be lost forever, especially if such items were paid for by poor people who subscribed their pennies to have them created.
Llewellyn