Monument

City and Midland Bank - WW2

Erection date: /3/1950

Inscription

{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. 

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
City and Midland Bank - WW2

Subjects commemorated i

World War 2

Sorry, we've done no research on WW2, it's just too big a subject. But do vis...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
City and Midland Bank - WW2

Created by i

Midland Bank

Founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Birmingham. Expanded to become ...

Read More

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister 1940 - 45 and 1951 - 55. Born Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock,...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
City and Midland Bank - WW2

Also at this site i

City and Midland Bank - WW1

City and Midland Bank - WW1

Statues flank this central panel. The bases of both are inscribed: Albert Tof...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

London Troops War Memorial

London Troops War Memorial

EC2, Threadneedle Street

Designed by Aston Webb with figures by Alfred Drury. The Duke of York who unveiled this later became George VI. Also present were the L...

52 subjects commemorated, 4 creators
St Mary of Eton - WW1 memorial

St Mary of Eton - WW1 memorial

E9, Eastway

The IWM War Memorials Register has a photo of an undated note saying ".. it would appear that the names are similar to the memorial in Vi...

War dead | WW1, WW2
200 subjects commemorated
Tottenham Green war memorial

Tottenham Green war memorial

N15, Tottenham Green

The statue is named 'Victory'. While the form of the monument is very different, the inscription is extremely similar to that on the Edmo...

3 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Royal Canadian Air Force  - WW2 HQ, monument

Royal Canadian Air Force - WW2 HQ, monument

WC1, Lincoln's Inn Fields, 20 - 28

This monument is in Lincoln's Inn Square garden, opposite the building at number 20.

2 subjects commemorated
St Bartholomew's Hospital - Marian Martyrs

St Bartholomew's Hospital - Marian Martyrs

EC1, West Smithfield, St Bartholomew's Hospital

Being just outside the city walls this was considered a suitable spot for executions. Here more than 60 Protestants were burned at the st...

4 subjects commemorated, 1 creator