Church War Memorial
Tottington War Memorial
St Annes War Memorial
Heywood War Memorial
Bolton War Memorial
On 26th September 1882 Walter Marsden was born to John Marsden at Church, Lancashire. He was baptised on 18th January 1883 at Church, Lancashire. His father's occupation on the 1891 census is Blacksmith.
In December 1916 Walter Marsden [aged 34] and Hilda Beatrice Hoare [aged 23] were married at Greenwich.
The London Gazette 30308. 26th September 1917. Awarded the Military Cross.
2nd Lt. Walter Marsden [aged 35], N. Lan. R.
The London Gazette 30399 3rd Suplement. Third Supplement. War Office. Monday 26th November 1917.
Awarded a Bar to the Military Cross.
2nd Lt. Walter Marsden [aged 35], M.C., N. Lan. R. (M.C. gazetted 26th September, 1917.)
Church War Memorial [Map]. War memorial, c. 1920. White ashlar, with Sculpture. On a short plinth a draped figure standing with arms spread on top of a tapered slab in which it is partly embedded. Lettering on back of slab. Sculpted by Walter Marsden [aged 37].
Tottington War Memorial [Map] was unveiled by Lord Walsingham [aged 71] at the Tottington Reading Room on 2nd May 1920 during a United Service of the Established and Free Churches of Tottington. Out of a population of around 250 people, 60 had joined up to serve in the First World War, and the memorial commemorates the 15 servicemen from Tottington and neighbouring Sturston who fell and the 45 men who returned safely. It was organised by a local War Memorial Committee and funded by public subscription.
The roundels were sculpted by Walter Marsden [aged 37].
John Augustus Grey 7th Baron Walsingham: On 21st March 1849 he was born to Thomas Grey 5th Baron Walsingham and Emily Julia Thellusson Baroness Walsingham. On 3rd December 1919 Thomas Grey 6th Baron Walsingham died. His half brother John succeeded 7th Baron Walsingham of Walsingham in Norfolk. On 21st March 1929 John Augustus Grey 7th Baron Walsingham died. His son George succeeded 8th Baron Walsingham of Walsingham in Norfolk.
The erecting of Lytham St Anne's War memorial [Map] in 1924 was made possible by a gift of £10000, donated by Lord Ashton. The memorial commemorates the fallen of the Municipal Borough of Lytham St Anne's, formed in 1922 by the merger of Lytham and St Anne's urban district councils. It was unveiled on 12 October 1924 by Alderman Charles Critchley, whose son Burton 'Plum' Critchley was killed in 1918 while serving in the RAF. The ceremony was attended by the Rt Hon Stephen Walsh (Minister for War), Maj Gen Sir Cecil Lothian Nicholson KCB CMG (whose son was killed at Arras), Lt Gen Sir Richard Butler KCB KCMG and 1000 ex-servicemen. The unveiling was also attended by nine children of fallen servicemen, who were later presented with gold medals inscribed with the coat of arms of the borough. Sculpted by Walter Marsden [aged 41].
On 25th August 1925 the Heywood War Memorial [Map] was unveiled by the Very Reverend The Dean of Manchester. The memorial was sculpted by Walter Marsden [aged 42].
Bolton War Memorial [Map]. Unveiled 14th July 1928 by Edward George Villiers Stanley 17th Earl of Derby [aged 63]. Sculpted by Walter Marsden [aged 45].
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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On 17th July 1969 Walter Marsden [aged 86] died.
On 6th April 1988 [his former wife] Hilda Beatrice Hoare [aged 94] died.