Monument: City and Midland Bank - WW2
War Memorial
Erection date: /3/1950
{On the plinth:}
1939 - 1945
Out of the depths of sorrow and sacrifice will be born again the glory of mankind.
Between the two lit sections is a bronze wreath with a large V made of a tasselled ribbon draped across the centre - all in bronze. It is in a WW1 style and very nice but behind glass and under very difficult lighting conditions, we could not capture it.
The quotation is the last line of a speech given by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, to the Allied Delegates at St. James's Place, London, 12 June 1941.
We can find little about this memorial on-line, not even the list of names but the War Memorials Trust has an article about the Midland Bank memorials which includes: "The memorial was originally erected at the Poultry office in March 1950 to commemorate the 478 male and female staff who gave their lives in defence of the nation. The dedication ceremony was led by the Archdeacon of London Canon O. H. Gibbs-Smith and the Bank’s Chairman, the Most Hon. The Marquess of Linlithgow, laid the first wreath."
Site: City and Midland Bank - war memorial (2 memorials)
E14, Canada Square, 8
From Upper Bank Street steps lead down to this covered walkway. In our photo the large white panel contains the names of the WW1 memorial. The WW2 memorial can be seen - the two lights to the right of the pillar. It is a very plain black cabinet: a plinth below and two lit pages of names above.
When eventually operational a nearby entrance to Crossrail will cause many people to walk past these memorials, and may also change their configuration.
The WW1 memorial was originally unveiled at the Bank’s headquarters in Threadneedle Street. The London City and Midland Bank became the Midland Bank in 1923. When the Bank moved to its new Head Office to Poultry in 1930 the memorial was left behind in what was then simply the Threadneedle Street branch. The WW2 memorial was erected at the Poultry office. Then the bank became part of HSBC and the Threadneedle branch was closed in 1992 so both war memorials was moved to the HSBC HQ in Leadenhall Street. From there the memorials were relocated to Canary Wharf where we found them. The WW1 memorial was moved in 2002, and the WW2 memorial in 2010. The Headquarters of HSBC are nearby at 8 Canada Square.
