How the Pots and Pans memorial finally got off the ground

Mark Barrow looks back at the foundation of the Pots and Pans War Memorial and how it has stood to serve generations of Saddleworthians (with help from local archives)

FOR MANY people it is the very first sign of entering Saddleworth. For miles around, the Pots and Pans cenotaph towers over the valleys and villages.

But a bitter debate back in 1919 questioned whether the iconic memorial would actually get off the ground…

The First World War officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, and the rest of that year saw local Saddleworth communities commemorate the fathers, sons and brothers who never returned.

But the idea of erecting a permanent memorial for the district transpired into a heated dispute. There was a massive divide between those advocating a cenotaph and those who wanted something more practical – with the idea of a cottage infirmary a strong alternative.

There was a lack of local medical facilities so the ensuing peace was seen as the opportunity to provide a hospital.

This view was supported by many former soldiers, and local scientist and historian Brandon Brierley claimed a hospital would be ‘a far worthier tribute to our noble dead than a useless obelisk’.

The controversy continued into the 1920s but Saddleworth Council finally pledged their support to building a memorial on Pots and Pans and a design was revealed by Gilbert Howcroft in 1920, with a proposed cost of around £2,000.

Despite growing unemployment and industrial decline, the plan went ahead and the memorial was finally complete in October 1923 after five months of construction.

The names of 259 men were inscribed on the original plaques which loosely faced the village they were representing.

A ceremony was arranged to unveil the new memorial and large crowds battled the Saddleworth rain and wind to listen to speeches from servicemen and a rendition of the Last Post.

Although Pots and Pans cenotaph still stands strong, the ceremony did raise concern over potential damage that ‘outsiders’ could inflict.

Changes were made to the monument following the Second World War when it was decided that Howcroft’s memorial should include names of those who died in the later conflict.

Their inclusion coincided with the addition of Springhead’s fallen servicemen for both World Wars – Springhead possessed their own memorial so were originally excluded from the Pots and Pans obelisk.

The memorial still stands to serve the people of Saddleworth and the annual Remembrance Day celebration is just as poignant and respectful as the original unveiling ceremony of 1923.