British Lime Industries (formerly I.C.I. Lime Division):
In 1891 Buxton Lime Firms Limited (later Buxton Lime Industries Limited) was formed and from then the Company supplied an ever increasing amount of high purity limestone and lime to the Brunner Mond Company, until in 1918 Buxton Lime Firms was finally bought out by Brunner Mond. Development of the current works at Tunstead did not commence until 1929.
As a result it needs to be remembered that the men commemorated on the Buxton Memorials worked not at the present site but a number of sites under the Company umbrella, e.g. Cowdale Quarry, shown below – working on the left, and as it appears today above the Dale, near the A6.
In 1891 Buxton Lime Firms Limited (later Buxton Lime Industries Limited) was formed and from then the Company supplied an ever increasing amount of high purity limestone and lime to the Brunner Mond Company, until in 1918 Buxton Lime Firms was finally bought out by Brunner Mond. Development of the current works at Tunstead did not commence until 1929.
The War Memorial of the British Lime Industries (formerly I.C.I. Lime Division), consists of two metal plaques mounted side by side in foyer of main offices at Tunstead Quarry, Buxton, Derbyshire.
These memorials were originally located in the Company Offices in The Royal Exchange, Spring Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire until they were moved about 1981, when the area was redeveloped.
In the 1920s the Great War Memorial was installed at the side of the doorway at the original location. The Second War Memorial joined in the 1940s. See: Photographs below]
The photos below show the Company’s former Offices in Spring Gardens. The building was originally built as The Royal Hotel for the 6th Duke of Devonshire in 1851. The picture on the left is from an old postcard, dated 1910. The one on the right is more recent, c. 2010.
The Memorials are now located in the foyer of the Tunstead Lime Works, Buxton. Below are the two Memorials, followed by the names on each:
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THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919
IMPERIAL CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES LTD
THE BUXTON LIME FIRMS CO. LTD
________________
ROLL OF HONOUR
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S. ALLCOCK
T. ALLCOCK
W. BENNETT
W.H. BENNETT
W.H. BENNETT
J.H. BLACKBURN
J. BLOOD
J.H. BOAM
W. BOOTH
J. BOWER
J.T. BRADWELL
S.J. BYATTE
J.W. DERBYSHIRE
H. FLETCHER
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G. PEARSON
A.F. POTTS
B.M. ROBERTS
M. SALT
J.A.S. SPENCER
H. STEEPLES
B. TAYLOR
E.H. TAYLOR
J. TRASK
A. WINT
C. FEATHERSTONE
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IMPERIAL
CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES LTD.
LIME DIVISION
IN MEMORY OF THOSE EMPLOYEES
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES ON ACTIVE
SERVICE IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
1939 – 1945
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Of the above Great War names, 20 appear on the Town War Memorial, The Slopes, Buxton. These are highlighted in blue above and link to an individual page on this site.
The Service details for these men can be accessed using the alphabetical names index at the top of the page, or by clicking on the highlighted names in the above table.
N.B. On the Slopes memorial – Sweetmore is spelled Sweatmore & Howe is spelled How.
Of the above Great War names the following appear on the Village War Memorial at Peak Dale, nr. Buxton: S. Allcock; J.H. Boam; W. Booth; J..T. Bradwell; S.J. Byatte; J.W. Derbyshire; P. Hassall; R. Hopwood; D. Mullins; G. Pearson; J. Pearson; M. Salt; T. Sidebottom; E.H. Taylor; J. Trask & R. Yates.
The names of: S. Allcock; T. Allcock; J. W. Derbyshire; H. Fletcher; J. W. Hill; G. Keyworth; J. Newlands and A. E. Potts can also be found on the Doveholes War Memorial.
Similarly, the names of R.J Adams; J.P. Belfield; J. Goodwin; F. Gyte; L. Howell; J.F. Lobley; C. & G. Penneystone and A.L. Tebb, from the World War 2 Memorial also appear on The Slopes Memorial.
N.B. The 61 names from The Great War and 11 of World War 2 on the Buxton Lime Works Memorial are not included on the main Buxton Memorials. Clearly, with such a large industry, many workers travelled from other towns and villages in the area. In the cases of WW2 men the link to their CWGC page is provided.
These men are not currently covered in this site, but as time goes on, however, it might be possible to extend the site to include them.
The History of the Buxton Lime Industries Memorials:
… is as outlined above, but before the Second World War, and in addition to the Town Memorial Services of Remembrance, a separate Remembrance Service was held annually at the Spring Gardens’ Offices.
The photo on the right was taken at a Sunday Service, held, for some reason, on the 11th April 1939.
The 1914 – 1919 plaque was originally mounted by the entrance door (below left), with the Second World War Plaque in the foyer (below right).
In the 1960s Mr. L.B. Ryder unveiled a separate Roll of Honour plaque in the Harpur Hill Recreation Club. (left).
- Sources:
- I am very grateful to Lafarge Tarmac for making the above photos available to me from the BLI archive.
