Unusual market memorial restored

A rare war memorial in a West Yorkshire market town has been restored.

The Butchers’ Roll of Honour, mounted on a wall at Halifax Borough Market, features a list of the members of the Halifax Butchers’ Association, and the Halifax Butchers’ and Assistants’ Sick and Benevolent Society who served during the First World War.

It differs from others in the borough in that it was designed during the war. The list of names is not of those who died, but the butchers who enlisted in each year of the conflict.

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The date on the left of the roll is 1914, but the end date was left blank. The cabinet housing the scroll has been repaired and the glass cleaned to ensure the inscriptions stand out.

Calderdale Council’s funeral services manager, Dave Clay, said: “The Butchers’ Roll of Honour might not be one of the more famous memorials in Calderdale, but it is a really interesting feature of Halifax Borough Market – situated in an area of the market which still houses butchers’ stalls today.

“Calderdale Council is restoring all the memorials in the borough, some with council funding and others with the help of a grant from the War Memorials Trust. We’re working hard to make sure that by the end of the centenary period in 2018, all the memorials in Calderdale are back to looking their best.”