Radcliffe War Memorial

The war memorial of the colliery village of Radcliffe, unveiled in 1928 with 29 names from the First World War and 10 from the Second, whose central element was re-erected in Amble's Town Square when the village was demolished for opencast coal in 1971.

The mining history in this record

Radcliffe, the village that grew up around Radcliffe Colliery, unveiled its war memorial on 5 May 1928 at the end of Leslie Row. It is an ashlar memorial with white marble name panels, two flanking columns and a carved wreath, inscribed to the men of Radcliffe who fell in the Great War, with a second panel for the members of H.M. Forces who fell in 1939-1945. It names 29 men of the First World War and 10 of the Second. Lt. Colonel H. Liddell unveiled it.

When Radcliffe was demolished in 1971 to make way for opencast coal operations, the central element of the memorial was removed and re-erected beside the Amble clock tower memorial in the Town Square, and the villagers were rehoused in Amble. The base and wing walls remain at the old site, west of the road, on the side away from the mining; a plaque on one gatepost remembers a former resident who died in 1996 and wished his ashes scattered in a village he did not know no longer existed. The memorial was rededicated on 3 November 2013.

People

Lt. Colonel H. Liddell D.S.O., M.C., who unveiled the memorial in 1928.

Legacy today

The memorial stands in the Memorial Gardens of Amble's Town Square, and the Amble and District Local History site records the men named on it with their units and families.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The Radcliffe war memorial was unveiled on 5 May 1928 at the end of Leslie Row in Radcliffe. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The memorial commemorates 29 men of Radcliffe who fell in the First World War and 10 who fell in the Second. (documented fact) ^1,3
• When Radcliffe was demolished in 1971 for opencast coal working, the memorial was re-erected in Amble beside the clock tower memorial. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The base and wing walls of the memorial remain at Radcliffe, on the west side of the road opposite the mining. (documented fact) ¹
• The memorial was rededicated on 3 November 2013. (documented fact) ¹

Mines

• Radcliffe Colliery — Northumberland
  Radcliffe was the village of Radcliffe Colliery; the memorial stood there until the village was demolished for opencast coal in 1971.

Sources

1. (secondary) Radcliffe Parishioners, IWM War Memorials Register 33527 — Imperial War Museums
2. (secondary) In Memory of the Fallen (Amble Town Council booklet) — Amble Town Council
3. (secondary) Radcliffe War Memorial Northumberland (Amble and District Local History) — Amble and District Local History (fusilier.co.uk)

Record created: 29 September 2026 · Last researched: 29 September 2026