Memorials at Coventry Churches
Alderman’s Green Methodist Church
Dedicated to: The 115 men of the district who served and the 11 who died.
History: This is a stone monument positioned in front of the church. It was commissioned by the Alderman’s Green Soldiers and Sailors Society and was unveiled by the Mayor, WH Grant, in November 1920. There is also a plaque inside the Church.
Current location: Alderman’s Green Methodist Church.
All Saints, Allesley
Dedicated to: The 18 people of the parish who died in the First World War and 23 who died in the Second World War.
History: A gift of the Allesley parishioners.
Current location: All Saints Church, Allesley
All Saints, Far Gosford Street
Dedicated to: The men of the parish who served in the war and the 21 who died.
History: This consisted of oak panelling with an altar table of remembrance in front. It was unveiled by Colonel Wyley in June 1921. The church also contained a stained glass window in memory of Gunner Thomas Farmer, who was killed at Ypres in 1917. The window was moved to St. John the Baptist Church in Brinklow Church; what happened to the other elements is not known.
Current location: Unknown (except the window). The church was demolished in the 1970s.
All Souls, Hearsall Common
Dedicated to: All who lost their lives in the war.
History: This Roman Catholic church was built as a war memorial. The foundation stone was laid by the Archbishop of Birmingham in 1923.
Current location: Kingsland Avenue, Hearsall Common
The church also contains a stained glass window installed after the Second World War which is a memorial to the dead of both world wars. There is also an illuminated memorial book, which appears not to have been finished.
Foleshill Congregational Church (now United Reformed Church)
Dedicated to: Members of the church who served in the war.
History: The memorial was unveiled by Reverend John Howard in July 1920. There are also tablets to three individual people who were killed in the war.
Current location: Unfortunately the memorial itself has been lost or destroyed, but there are three individual plaques remaining at what is now Foleshill United Reformed Church, Church Road, Foleshill.
The church also contains the grave of Gunner Walter Atkins, who died in 1917. His original gravestone is in the churchyard along with a modern gravestone erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Gosford Street Baptist Church
Dedicated to: The members of the congregation who died in the war.
History: This was an engraved brass plaque, inscribed ‘To the Glory of God and in memory of those connected with this Church and Congregation who laid down their lives in the Great War’. It listed the 95 who joined up and the 16 who died. It was unveiled in the church by the Deputy Mayor in 1921, with a plan to move it to the new schoolrooms at the church.
Current location: The church was badly damaged in the Second World War and ceased to be used in 1950. The memorial was probably destroyed. Can you confirm this?
Holy Trinity
Dedicated to: The soldiers of the parish who died in the war.
History: This is a decorated panelled memorial with three angels holding carved marble decorations. It lists three columns of names separated by regimental badges.
Current location: Holy Trinity Church.
Methodist Central Hall
Dedicated to: Members of the congregation who served in the war. The names of those who died are highlighted in red.
History: The memorial was presented by Mr and Mrs J Fennell.
Current location: Methodist Central Hall.
Queen’s Road Baptist Church
Dedicated to: The men of the church who lost their lives in the war.
History: The memorial is in the form of four stained glass windows.
Current location: Queen’s Road Baptist Church.
St. Andrew’s Church
Dedicated to: The Glory of God and to Commemorate the following men who served their country in the Great War 1914 – 1918
History: Erected to commemorate Parishoners who died or served in the Great War.
Current Location: St. Andrew’s Church, Eastern Green
St. Barbara’s, Earlsdon
Dedicated to: The members of the parish who died in the war.
History: This is a brass plaque within an area of the church dedicated to remembrance, together with a memorial font.
Current location: St Barbara’s Church, Earlsdon.
St Barnabas Church of Masihi Sandash, Foleshill
Dedicated to: the Glory of God and the memory of the 13 men of the Church who gave their lives in the Great War.
History: This is a hand lettered roll of honour in a wooden frame.
Current Location: The Church is no longer a Church of England Church but the memorial is still in storage there.
St Chad’s, Stoke
Dedicated to: the 31 members of the church who died in the war.
History: The memorial was a Gothic stone porch added to the church, with the names of the fallen on two marble plaques. It was dedicated by the Bishop of Coventry in January 1923. The ceremony began with a parade from Barras Green to the Church, led by the band of the 7th Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
Current location: The building no longer exists, but the two stone plaques were relocated to St. Alban’s Church on Barras Heath.
St James’, Styvechale
Dedicated to: The five men of the parish who died in the war.
History: This brass memorial was unveiled by Lt Colonel Toogood of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
Current location: St James’ Church, Leamington Road.
St James Church, Whitley
Coventry’s newest War Memorial was unveiled at St. James’s Church, Whitley, on 22nd February 2015. It commemorates the eight young men from Whitley who died during the First World War.
St. John’s Church, Westwood Heath
Stone plaque with green wreath enclosing dedication and surrounded by golden ribbons. This memorial is linked to the Westwood Memorial Nursing Home (see other memorials)
St John the Baptist, Coventry
Dedicated to: The 90 men connected to the church who died during the war.
History: The memorial is a stained glass window, showing the patron saints of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and listing the names of the 90 men of the parish who died. The window was created by Burlison and Grylls.
Current location: St John the Baptist.
St Laurence’s, Foleshill (Bell Green)
Dedicated to: The 21 men of the parish who died in the war.
History: The memorial is an oak screen with four panels listing the names of the 21 men who died. It was unveiled by Henry Maddocks MP in September 1921.
Current location: St Laurence’s Church, Bell Green.
St Mark’s, Hillfields
Dedicated to: Not known
History: This church originally had a memorial altar with two memorial tablets, one on each side. The church is no longer in use and the tablets have been removed.
Current location: We don’t know whether these tablets still exist. Do you know?
St Mary’s Church, Walsgrave
Dedicated to: the men of Walsgrave Parish who gave their lives for freedom during two World Wars.
History: The memorial commemorates both World Wars. The names for WW1 are the same as those enscribed on the stone cross nearby.
Current Location: Inside St. Mary’s Church
St Michael’s Baptist Church
Dedicated to: The 59 members of the church who served in the war and the five who died.
History: This was a tablet unveiled by the Reverend TG Hunter.
Current location: The church was destroyed by bombing in November 1940.
St Michael’s, Stoke
Dedicated to: The 27 members of the parish who lost their lives in the war.
History: This memorial takes the form of a new porch at the entrance to the church. This was unveiled by the Bishop of Coventry in June 1921. Inside the porch there is a stone tablet listing the names of the 27 men.
Current Location: St Michael’s Church, Stoke.
There is also a memorial to the Pridmore family in the churchyard, which includes a dedication to Captain PM Pridmore, who was killed in 1917.
St Paul’s, Foleshill Road
Dedicated to: Members of the parish.
History: This is a stone memorial cross in the churchyard. The memorial was commissioned from the Bromsgrove Guild. It was dedicated on 11th September 1920 and cost £514 15s. The cross was originally accompanied by an oak reredos inside the church, but this was destroyed by bombing in the Second World War.form the plaque from the memorial is missing. There is also a brass plaque in the Church. There is a contemporary newspaper cutting about the dedication of the memorial in 1920 here.
Current location: St Paul’s Church, Foleshill Road.
St Peter’s, Hillfields
Dedicated to: The men of the parish who died in the war.
History: This memorial was an oak screen over an altar with a bronze crucifix in the centre with panels listing the 112 men who died. It was dedicated in December 1921 in a service led by the Archdeacon of Coventry and the Vicar of St Peter’s.
Current location: St Peter’s Centre, Hillfields. Only the panels survive.
St Thomas’, Keresley
Dedicated to: The men of Keresley and Coundon who lost their lives.
History: This is a stone cross in the churchyard of St Thomas’s Church. It was unveiled by Lieutenant-General Sir John Keir in August 1921. The names of the 22 men who died are inscribed on it.
Current location: St Thomas’ Church.
St Thomas’, Albany Road
Dedicated to: The 72 men of the parish who died in the war.
History: This was originally a shrine that was dedicated by the Bishop of Coventry in 1917. It was rebuilt inside the church and unveiled by the Mayor in June 1920.
Current location: Unknown. The church was demolished in 1976. Do you have any information about this memorial?
St Thomas’, Longford
Dedicated to: Members of the parish who died in the war.
History: This memorial is a carved wooden lectern in the form of an Eagle. A wooden plaque lists the names of the people who died.
Current location: St Thomas’, Longford.
Station Street West Methodist Church
Dedicated to: The men connected with the church who died in the war.
History: The tablet is inscribed ‘To the Glory of God And in the Faith of Jesus Christ this Tablet was erected to the memory of the men connected with the Church who fell In The Great War 1914-1918’ and lists the names of the men who died.
Current location: Bethel United Apostolic Church, Foleshill (the same location).
Stoney Stanton Road Methodist Church
History: This memorial was erected by the Wesleyan Church in Stoney Stanton Road to honour the men who served in the Great War.
Current Location: The memorial was moved to the Cornerstone Centre when the Church was sold to the Muslim community. The Cornerstone Centre is currently closed and it is planned to move the memorial again to Methodist Central Hall.
Vine Street Congregational Church
Dedicated to: The men of the church who lost their lives in the war.
History: This is a wooden honours board which lists the names of the men who served and the 12 who died. The church closed in 1945 and the congregation joined with Well Street Congregational Church at Holyhead Road United Reformed Church.
Current location: Holyhead Road United Reformed Church.
Walsgrave Baptist Church
Dedicated to: Four members of the congregation who gave their lives in the Great War.
History: Not known.
Current Location: The memorial is within the main Church Hall at Walsgrave Baptist Church, Hinckley Road.
Well Street Congregational Church
Dedicated to: The people connected to the church who died in the war.
History: This memorial consisted of two oak panels, inscribed with the names of the 27 men of the church who lost their lives on active service in the war. A civilian killed when the Lusitania was sunk is also commemorated. It was dedicated by the pastor of the church in July 1921.
Current location: This church was destroyed in the Second World War. A paper copy of the memorial is kept at Holyhead Road United Reformed Church.
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