A granite obelisk on Grange Hill, a wartime training camp on the edge of town, and a museum exhibition rebuilt every autumn: three ways West Kirby has kept its wartime history close.
Standing 14.5 metres tall on the summit of Grange Hill, the Hoylake and West Kirby War Memorial is a granite four-sided obelisk commanding views across the town and estuary. It was designed by the sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger (1885–1934), who also created the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner in London, and was dedicated in 1922 to commemorate the men and women of West Kirby and Hoylake who died in the First World War — with the dead of the Second World War added to it later. It is Grade II listed by Historic England, and remains the focus of West Kirby's Remembrance Sunday parade and wreath-laying service each year.
1940 – 1957
Between 1940 and 1957, RAF West Kirby operated on the edge of the town as a training and reception depot — for many National Servicemen, their first taste of RAF life. A memorial stone at the site of the old camp's main gate, on Saughall Massie Road, still marks where it stood.
West Kirby United Reform Church holds its own, more intimate memorial: a plaque naming twelve members of the congregation who served in the Second World War and did not return.
The museum keeps this history alive in its own way. “West Kirby Remembers,” an annual exhibition timed to Remembrance, draws on the museum's collection of wartime local material, and a special exhibition on West Kirby and Hoylake in the Second World War runs most years from October to December — see the museum's News & Events page for what's currently on.
Plan ahead
Group visits
Clubs, schools, historical societies and social groups are welcome by arrangement — £2 per head, up to 20 people, with two weeks' notice.
Book a group visitResearch Group
Our Research Group holds decades of local material — including records of who lived and worked in individual houses and shops across the village. Genuine enquiries are welcome.
Contact the Research Group
