War memorials

There are 3 war memorials

The Wall of Remembrance WWI and WWII

This is a large screen wall erected and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It lists 191 Commonwealth service personnel buried in the cemetery in registered war graves - the vast majority from WWI.

The J Lyons War Memorial

J Lyons & Company was a leading British manufacturer of bread and cakes and was famous for its Corner Houses teashops last century.

The company erected the tall granite memorial pillar listing 227 former employees who lost their lives in WWI. It is a Grade II listed building.

Later, Lyons added the arc of Portland stone to list those who died in WWII. The memorials were moved from Sudbury to Greenford before finally being relocated in 2002 to Margravine Cemetery after the former Lyons sites were sold off. The Lyons Company had close association with Hammersmith at Cadby Hall the company's head office in Hammersmith Road, It was a major employer in the borough in the 1880s and 90s - hence the final choice of site for the memorials.

Sadly the Second World War memorial was broken in the move. It was completely rebuilt with new base and lintel but with several architectural features removed. It is not a listed building.

The Blake's Memorial

This is not only a memorial but the actual grave of a group of employees of the local munitions factory in Wood Lane. A fatal explosion occurred and 11 women and 2 men died 31 October 1918 (though the memorial mentions November). The date was tragically only 10 days before Armistice. Their coffins were taken to the cemetery in army lorries.

Several VIPs were visiting the factory that fateful day and their wounds were mentioned in fair detail. The munitions workers (mostly women), who lost their lives, received little mention in the press or in official descriptions of the incident.

However, Henry Foreman the then Mayor of Hammersmith erected a Celtic cross of rough-hewn granite. It is to be found by the wall in Section XXVII (27)

A Heritage Lottery grant was obtained by the Friends to renovate the memorial. The names of the workers are clearly readable again. They have not been forgotten. An interpretation board explains the story.

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