Glenridding Village Hall Roll of Honour

Patterdale Roll of Honour - Penrith Observer

The first Patterdale Roll of was posted in the porch of Patterdale Church by Mrs Marshall of Patterdale Hall in January 1915. As reported in the Penrith Observer she had made house to house visits to compile the list which included the following 18 men:

The Rev WP Morris, Sergeant D Bowman, Corporal Hugh Ward, Lance Corporal Edward Place, Privates Joseph Boustead, David Brown, Grenville Bennett, John Bell, Miles Cooper, Thos. E Greenhow, Percy L Jones, Alex Lancaster, John Lancaster, Albert Routledge, Thos Thompson, Thos Wall, John Watson, Jos Youdale.

The list was also published in the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald and the Westmorland Gazette. It is likely that this first Roll of Honour was maintained by a local committee which seems to have operated throughout the war, supporting the families of those men serving abroad. We know that the Honorary Secretary of this Committee was Joseph Beck Philipson, the Headmaster of Patterdale School. One of the things that the Committee did was send postcards at Christmas to those men from the ale serving abroad and we are very fortunate to have been sent a copy of one of these postcards by the family of Henry Thwaites, who mother Mary was living in Patterdale even though Henry had emigrated to Canada before the war and served with the Canadian forces on the Western Front. A copy of this postcard is shown below and shows the view of Patterdale from Place Fell by the famous local photographer Joseph Lowe who lived at Deepdale Bridge and who took many of the photos included in our Then and Now section.

It is likely that many of the people who were on this War Committee were instrumental in the creation of the Roll of Honour erected in Glenridding Village Hall after the War. Some of the names included on Mrs Marshall’s original Roll of Honour were missing from the one which is still on display in the Glenridding Village Hall. This was erected after the war by public subscription although we are currently not exactly sure when it was unveiled.

There are 103 names inscribed on the Glenridding Village Hall Roll of Honour which is hung just inside the entrance the Hall on the left. Those who died have a small cross against their name. During the course of 2014 and into 2015 we have researched all the names on the board, and what we have uncovered so far can be found by clicking their names. We are always looking for more information so if you know any more then please get in touch.

Each of the stories is fascinating in their own right, and tells us much about the folk from the Dale. Some, such as the story of the Lancaster Brothers, include tales of adversity and hardship at home, with the war seemingly providing a way out, and leading to future success and glory. There are also stories of men such as Lance Corporal David Brown, who became German POWS. We have also included the names of some additional men with strong local connections who for some reason did not appear on the roll of honour, such as Tom Little, and The Reverend WP Morris, as well as members of the 1914 Ullswater Football Team like Alfred Herd, Herbert Tabberer, and Albert Potts. We are still desperately looking for any information to complete the stories of all the men who served, so if you can help us please let us know.