English Electric Co., War Memorial, at GE Stafford

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Date:November 2020

Description:This photograph shows the English Electric Co., War Memorial on its new site with the GE (General Electric) Transformer offices and factory in the background. This picture is reproduced by kind permission of Mr Gary Jones and Mrs Gill Ward of GE Renewable Energy who retain copyright.

The Memorial was moved from its previous location at the Queensville area of the site due to major redevelopment. It was recreated in this setting and dedicated in time for Remembrance Sunday and Remembrance Day in November 2020. The company laid a wreath along with the Stafford Branch of Unite Union. The Memorial in its new location on Ranshaw Drive may now be seen by employees, relatives and the general public.

The Memorial holds two bronze tablets which are thought to have been cast in the Company Foundry. Each tablet has the name, rank and regiment inscribed of the men who were employees of the Company and who fell during the First and the Second World Wars.

In 1920 the Staffordshire Advertiser reported that on Thursday 11 November 1920 around two thousand five hundred people gathered at Stafford’s English Electric Co., Siemens Works, on the grassed area between the Main Offices and the Factory. At precisely 11.00am there was the unveiling of the First World War Tablet, followed by a two minutes silence and then a dedication ceremony. This was to honour the 89 men who fell during the First World War. The ceremony was planned to coincide with the nation honouring its glorious dead by the burial in Westminster Abbey of the Unknown Warrior and by the unveiling of the National Cenotaph in Whitehall.

The Lord Bishop of Lichfield, the right Rev. Dr J A Kempthorne performed the dedication ceremony, the Rev. J Reaney, Vicar of St. Paul’s Church acted as his Chaplain. Mr W Parker, Works Manager, presided and various heads of departments were present. The committee responsible for the arrangements were Messrs. W Parker (Chairman), C Wilson, J F Leek, A H McLaren, C W Miller, J.P., F E Read, O.B.E., and F G Shepherd (Hon. Secretary).

Following the ceremony the tablet was placed in the foyer of the Main Offices. After the Second World War the second tablet was created in a similar in style but with 53 Names. In later years the tablets were moved to the foyer of Stychfields Hall which was built around 1960 and formally opened on 9 March 1962. Over the following years with the redevelopment of the Lichfield Road site, the tablets had to be moved on several occasions. Around 1982 they were moved from Stychfields Hall to a specially built brick Memorial which was by the boundary wall between the factory and the New Hough (the Company Guest House). The Memorial stood there for approximately 20 years until further redevelopment took place to make way for the Hough Retail Park. Around 2002 the Memorial was moved to a site at Queensville facing the Turbine Generator factory’s big Bay known as 68 Bay. The next major phase of the site changes involved demolition of all of the former Main Works offices and factory buildings during 2020 and 2021. The Memorial was dismantled and re-created by the company on an adjacent site near to the GE (General Electric) Transformer Works, which is still operational (May 2021).


Timeline

The timeline shows resources around this location over a number of years.

1920s
English Electric Co., Stafford
English Electric Co., Stafford

Pictured are employees outside the Main Offices. These offices were built for Siemens ...

1940s
English Electric Co., Stafford
English Electric Co., Stafford

Pictured above are employees outside the rear of the Main Offices off Lichfield ...

1950s
English Electric Co., Stafford
English Electric Co., Stafford

“The World’s Most Powerful Transformer” is pictured being prepared to leave the ...

1970s
GEC, Lichfield Road, Stafford
GEC, Lichfield Road, Stafford

Pictured in GEC’s Main Office building is the leaving presentation for Mr Chris ...

2000s
The Main Offices, Alstom, Lichfield Road, Stafford
The Main Offices, Alstom, Lichfield Road, Stafford

During the ownership of Siemens, English Electric Co., GEC and Alstom this building ...

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Creators: GE Renewable Energy - Creator

Donor ref:BM-432-GE Renewable Energy (192/45005)

Source: Mr Bob Metcalfe

Copyright information: Copyrights to all resources are retained by the individual rights holders. They have kindly made their collections available for non-commercial private study & educational use. Re-distribution of resources in any form is only permitted subject to strict adherence to the usage guidelines.