Poppy Corner and Cleveleys War Memorials

The fallen of Cleveleys are officially remembered at Four Lane Ends. But here in the town they’re not forgotten either, with Poppy Corner and Cleveleys War Memorials. Poppy Corner as it’s affectionately known, includes three town centre memorial benches and a Tommy soldier silhouette. Less well known is the Memorial Stone at St Andrew’s Church.

Poppy Corner and Cleveleys War Memorials

Two of the attractive benches which make up Poppy Corner were kindly donated in their entirety by local residents Paul and Sharon Riley-Clarke. They also fundraised for the third bench and the Tommy soldier. Find them on Victoria Road West near to the traffic lights outside Specsavers. They’re a fitting tribute to veterans.

The community of Cleveleys continues the tradition of holding a Remembrance Service here, usually on the Saturday of Remembrance Weekend.

Lest We Forget

Poppy Corner serves as the public War Memorial for the town centre, paying tribute to those who have fought so that we remain safe and free.

There’s a Cleveleys War Memorial Stone at nearby St Andrew’s Church and the surrounding area is being transformed into a fitting remembrance garden. There’s more about that below.

And of course the Thornton Cleveleys War Memorial proper is at Four Lane Ends, Thornton. There, tributes remember the fallen from the World Wars and other conflicts.

Creating Poppy Corner and Cleveleys War Memorials

The first of the pair to be installed was unveiled at the Cleveleys Christmas light switch on, on 28 November 2018.

The benches mark the centenary of the end of the First World War. The intricate design features soldiers, poppies and a poignant quote, reading ‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.’ The second bench in the pair, along with the soldier, were dedicated at a Remembrance Service on 7 November 2019, with the help of children from Manor Beach School.

Restoration of Poppy Corner

Installed several years ago, they had all suffered the effects of the weather and were looking shabby. Not respectful of the memories which they serve. So in 2023 Paul and Sharon, with the help of Care for Cleveleys volunteer Des Rice, set about a full restoration.

A Fitting Tribute

Private John Lawler, a local ex soldier, was asked to do the honours and re-open the memorial area.

When driving an armoured vehicle in Basrah in 2016 it hit an IED. Three soldiers died and he suffered life changing injuries. A true hero in every sense of the word. Representatives from the Armed Forces and the community came along at 4.30pm on Saturday 9 September 2023 to join John for a short unveiling ceremony. The benches look amazing, and a credit to everyone concerned. We were there and made a short film of the event –

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About the Restoration of Poppy Corner

This was a tremendous effort, entirely supported by the community and businesses who have all completed the work without any charge.

• North Coat Powder Coating And Wheel Refurbishment – sand blasted a bench and the Tommy paid for all three pieces to be galvanised then powder coated.
• Thornton Sandblasting – blasted one of the benches
• RL scaffolding – provided contacts and helped with transport.
• The individuals Rickie Lake and Steve Wilkinson Transport – for their endless help
• Philip Thompson – for polishing the plaques
• And of course Paul Clarke & Sharon Riley-Clarke who originally donated the benches.
• Thanks also to Poulton based BCN Auto Refinishing owner Jim Cornwall-Nash for supplying paint for the last remaining bench. Already galvanised when installed it just needs repainting which will be done very soon.
• And thanks to Des Rice for coordinating the restoration.

Have a look at the photos from the big reveal –

The First of the Town Centre Memorial Benches

The first of Cleveleys poppy design memorial benches is outside Poundland, near the traffic lights on Victoria Road West in Cleveleys. Have you wondered how it got there… it’s a story of a memorial bench and the bees. Sharon Riley-Clarke and her husband Paul Clarke placed the bench there. In fact they’ve put the other new ones there too.

It’s a lovely black metal bench, with the motto ‘Lest we Forget’ on a field of red poppies. Look closely and you’ll see two bees, immortalised in the design, and they’re there for a reason.

They’re both beekeepers and it’s the wax from their beehives which has been put to good use. When the hives are ‘uncapped’ they’re left with beeswax – the bees make it to cover the honey in their hive. It’s a very clean, sterile wax which Sharon uses to make Lip balm. In its raw state, beeswax is very brittle so Sharon blends it with other oils (sweet almond oil in this case) and essential oils. The lip balm is very popular and cured many skin ailments.

Pouring the profits into the bench

Sharon made 500 of these lipbalms and sold them at £2 each. She says “It cost us a few hundred pounds to make them and we poured all this back into the making of the bench.”

“We’ve done this because we have a massive respect for our armed forces past and present. My dad was in the RAF, and through my work as a paramedic, I have met many veterans (including a dambuster) and heard so many fantastic stories. I recently met a 102 year old veteran who has a legion de honneur medal – the French equivalent to the Victoria Cross.” She added “I’ve taken many a veteran to hospital in the past, and have such big respect for them. I’ve heard the most amazing stories of courage and character.” Sharon and Paul helped to design this unique bench and it takes pride of place on our own high street.

Cleveleys War Memorial Stone at St Andrew’s Church

The Garden of Remembrance sits towards the side of St Andrew’s Church adjacent to Rossall Road. It’s a space for quiet reflection and entirely perfect for the Memorial Stone from the original Memorial Hall.

Having become overgrown by shrubbery, in 2023 the community set about creating a new garden to surround this important memory. With the vigorous hydrangea gone, the weeds removed and a new gravel path laid it’s quite a transformation. The Garden of Remembrance and grounds of the Church are also part of the towns Cleveleys In Bloom entry.

We went along to the dedication of it at Remembrance weekend 2023 –

The Memorial Hall was built in the 1920’s to honour the fallen of the First World War. With work completed in 1926 the Memorial Stone was first unveiled by Lord Stanley. Hugely popular for all kinds of activities for many years afterwards, but by 1990 it was in need of major structural repairs and so demolished. The modern hall space at the West end of the main church replaced it from 2001/2 and the Stone relocated to the external wall of the North Transept.

Other Poppy Benches

After the unveiling of Poppy Corner and Cleveleys War Memorials, it sparked a lot of interest, not just here on the Fylde but all over the country.

Fleetwood Town Council has since paid for and installed seven benches at various sites in the town. Here at Visit Fylde Coast we’ve had lots of enquiries from community groups and councils all over the UK. There are now many more benches around Lancashire.

If you are interested in purchasing a bench, they are made by Roll and Scroll. There are different versions from £600+ delivery upwards. Please tell them that you saw it on the Visit Cleveleys website if you do get in touch. Thanks!