Within the Dudley Borough cemeteries there are two “Soldiers” plots of War Graves at Stourbridge and Dudley cemeteries with a few other single graves elsewhere.
If you have any queries regarding “War Graves” in the Borough cemeteries please contact the relevant cemetery or crematorium.
The Commission was established by Royal Charter in 1917. Its duties are to mark and maintain the graves of the members of the forces of the Commonwealth who were killed in the two World Wars, to build memorials to those who have no known grave and to keep records and registers, including, after the Second World War, a record of the Civilian War Dead.
The memorial is located at the top of Church Hill, facing towards Clent Hills and blocks of flats. It was unveiled on the 12 November 1921.
The figure in World I uniform on top of the pedestal is based on photographs of Stanley Harley, the first Brierley Hill man to be awarded the D.C.M. Set in the upper part of the pedestal are four marble reliefs representing the work of the four main services.
Facing Church Street is a scene showing the Royal Army Medical Corps tending to the wounded; on the opposite side to this is a scene showing soldiers going 'over the top'; facing towards High Street is a scene of artillery in action; and the opposite side to this is a badly weathered relief which depicts the Arethusa, having sunk a German warship, sending out its boats to rescue the German sailors.
The War Memorial was financed by public subscription in memory of those who fell in the First World War and was erected outside the public library in 1923. It was designed by Ernest Pickford and unveiled by the Earl of Coventry on 16 February 1923. It was later moved to its present position in Mary Stevens Park in the 1960's.
The Quarry Bank War Memorial was erected to commemorate around 300 Quarry Bank people that lost their lives in World War One and World War Two.
The memorial in Quarry Bank, Dudley, West Midlands which was unveiled by the Dean of Worcester in 1931. A great local benefactor, Mr Stevens, paid for the memorial but as he was a pacifist he stipulated that it was to be a peace memorial and not a war memorial and that there was to be no statue of a military nature. The inscription reflected this as it not only was it dedicated in proud and grateful recognition of the fallen but it also has the inscription on the wall behind it ‘Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation, neither shall they learn war any more’.
Adding Names to War Memorials
When proposals are put to the Council for the addition of names to existing war memorials, the Council will follow the below guidance provided by the War Memorial Trust when giving considerations to proposals.