Walter Marsden

[Atarah]

Hi, anyone ever heard of Walter Marsden? No? Anyone ever seen the lovely war memorial in Gatty Park? Well, Walter was the scupltor!

Walter was born in Church in 1882, the son of a blacksmith. He worked in the terracotta department of the Accrington Brick and Tile Company. The then owners, the McAlpine family, saw his talent, and encouraged him to study at what was then the Accrington Technical School along Blackburn Road (we knew it as the Grammar School, now demolished and houses built on the site!). He eventually went to the Royal College of Art in London He enlisted in the first world war and afterwards, resumed his career. Probably because of his own war experiences, his turned his skills to the design of war memorials. All but two of his memorials are in his native Lancashire. For his home town of Church, he designed two memorials, both unveiled in Sept 1923.

The memorial in Gatty Park is a classically robed figure of "Peace" carved from Portland stone. In Elmfield Hall there is a bronze plaque naming 132 Church lads who died in the war.

He died in July 1968 aged 85 years. Towards the end of his life he was awarded a civil pension by the Queen for his services to sculpture.

Unfortunately his life and achievements have gone unrecognised in his home town. Maybe someone on this site is related to him?

Gatty Park is now, I believe, some sort of Community Centre. Maybe someone knows for sure?

(some of these notes kindly supplied by Mr William Turner, local historian)