Manchester British Legion, St. Peter’s Square – Manchester, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 28.660 W 002° 14.624
30U E 550191 N 5925675
A non specific bronze plaque laid during WW II to replace a memorial to Italian Comrades from WW I
Waymark Code: WMB3MR
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/31/2011
Views: 3
This small plaque on an Italian marble plinth stands in front of St. Peter’s Cross in St Peter’s square near to the World War I & II Cenotaph.
The memorial was originally a bronze plaque on a marble plinth in honour of Italian fighters in WW I, erected in 1924. It was mainly paid for the Italian community in Manchester, a number of whom had fought in the First World War as members of the U.K.s armed forces. This was because Italy was our ally in this war.
However in World War II Italy joined forces with Germany and so was an enemy of the U.K. Manchester City Council then removed the plaque and replaced it with the one in honour of the Manchester British Legion.
In 1990, after many years of requests from the local Italian community Manchester council erected a new marble plinth for the Italians. It stands between this British Legion memorial and St. Peter’s cross.
Type of Memorial: Non-Specific Memorial
In Honor Of: FALLEN COMRADES BRITISH LEGION MANCHESTER
Marker Text:
To our FALLEN COMRADES BRITISH LEGION MANCHESTER
Date of dedication: 1942
Who Put it Here?: Manchester City Council
Description of Memorial:
The cross of St. Peter marks the position of the altar in St. Peter’s Church which had stood on the site since 1794 until it was demolished in 1907. It was demolished because of the tendency for the population of the city to move out to the suburbs.
The site is right next to St. Peter’s Square station on the Metrolink light rail system. At this point the trams are running on rails embedded in the road.
Wars mentioned (Multi-war only): Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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