The Great War had not been over long, but planning for a permanent memorial to the fallen was a priority for the school governors from as early as 1919, when a committee was set up. At this stage, the governors knew that the school’s long term future was not at Long Millgate. Any plans for commemoration were focused on a new school building.
When the school moved to Rusholme in 1931, a memorial was set in place in the hall, which from the start was referred to as the “Memorial Hall”. The War Memorial Committee minutes show that the stained glass and statue in the hall and memorial book in reception were the first elements of our current buildings to be decided upon, long before plans for windows, electrics, sewers or classrooms were in place.
The wooden boards which stand in Memorial Hall are later additions to the building. Progress on the building of the pavilion, which was to be the School's lasting memorial to Old Mancunians who died in the Second World War, had been delayed due to difficulties obtaining a building license. The Buildings and Finance Committee decided to create the memorial boards in order to show that some progress had been made in remembering those who had died. They were added in 1952, with casualties from both wars commemorated at the same time, to the left and right of the main door at a cost of £135. The boards to the left of the doors list names of Old Mancunians and staff who were killed in the First World War. The boards to the right commemorate those who died in the Second World War.
The initial lists were alphabetical by surname. However, by the 1980s, Ian Bailey had, during archival research, noticed an increasing number of Old Mancunians that had been inadvertently missed off the original boards. High Master Geoffrey Parker agreed to the creation of an additional board for these names to sit alongside the alphabetical lists. Additions to this board continue. We also want to commemorate a number of Old Mancunians who have died serving in the Forces since the end of the Second World War. A new list is being created to remember the five such individuals we have discovered so far. If any Old Mancunian has knowledge of other OMs who should be included in this new memorial, please do get in touch.
We are currently in the process of collating more detailed information on all the names on the boards including burial/memorial details, service numbers, epitaphs, regiment/unit details and family details. We have also provided access to the memorial book, which the School created immediately after WWI. Follow this link to see these documents: https://www.mgs-life.co.uk/article/complete-world-war-i-memorial-boards-and-book
Credit to GIS Bailey for correcting the omissions and to you for continuing the research