ALBERT STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Belfast.
In loving memory of the following members of Albert Street Church and Sabbath School who fell in the Great War 1914- 1919.
Lieutenant Thomas Adair,
Private William Galway,
Lance-Corporal William Gihon,
Gunner Robert Glasgow,
Corporal John E. Greenwood, M.M.,
Second- Lieutenant T. O. Halliday,
Gunner David Hall,
Private Hugh Harkness,
Private William R. Hoey,
Sergeant John E. Hunter,
Private John Kelso,
Private Albert Laughlin,
Sergeant J. Howard Mitchell,
Lance-Corporal Edward Mooney,
Corporal W. J. Morrison,
Private Joseph M’Allister,
Private Joseph M’Cracken,
Private James M’Grath,
Private Thomas M’Kee,
Corporal Robert Nicholl,
Private Edward Nixon,
Private James Nugent,
Private Robert Nugent,
Sergeant Archibald Russell,
Private Thomas Smyth,
Private James Templeton,
Private William J. Todd,
Second-Lieutenant James Watson,
Private Thomas Waugh,
Private David Whiteside,
Private James Wilson,
Corporal William R. Wilson,
Private Fred Young.
Their name liveth for evermore.
If you can supply images of these memorials or the church, please contact me at uwms@outlook.com
WAR MEMORIAL UNVEILED AND DEDICATED.
At morning service on Sunday, November 2, 1919, Albert Street Presbyterian Church was reopened after undergoing an extensive course of renovation, which included painting and the introduction of electric light. In the vestibule a brass tablet of choice design had been erected to perpetuate the names and memories of the men of Albert Street who had fallen in the great war, and it is also intended to provide a new organ as part of the same tribute. The cost of both of these memorials is estimated at £1000, and the whole amount will be met by the members of the congregation. An appeal is being made for help in connexion with the work of renovation, and it is believed that the response will be not only prompt but generous.
During the war 250 young men connected with Albert Street Presbyterian Church responded to the call of King and country. Thirty-four of these made the supreme sacrifice, and their names as engraven on the memorial tablet are ;- Lieut. Thomas Adair, Lce. Cpl. John Campbell, Private William Galway, Lce. Cpl. William Gihon, Gunner Robert Glasgow, Cpl. J. F. Greenwood, Sec-Lieut. T. O. Halliday, Gunner David Hall, Pte. Hugh Harkness, Pte. William R. Hoey, Sergt. J. E. Hunter, Pte. John Kelso, Pte. Albert Laughlin, Sergt. J. H. Mitchell, Lce. Cpl. Edward Mooney, Cpl. W. J. Morrison, Pte. Joseph M’Allister, Pte. Joseph M’Cracken, Pte. James M’Grath, Pte. Thomas M’Kee, Cpl. Robert Nicholl, Pte. Edward Nixon, Pte. James Nugent, Pte. Robert Nugent, Sergt. Archd. Russell, Pte. Thomas Smith, Pte. James Templeton, Pte. Thomas Waugh, Pte. David Whiteside, Pte. James Wilson, Cpl. W. R. Wilson, and Pte. Young.
At the close of an impressive service Rev. Dr. Henry Montgomery, of the Shankill Road Mission Church and formerly of Albert Street Church who conducted the service, dedicated the memorial in the presence of a large and deeply interested congregation. In doing so he said many of the men whose names were on the memorial tablet had been baptised by him. All of them had gallantly responded to the call of duty, and that was one of the noblest testimonies that could be offered as to their patriotism as well as their Christianity. In that respect they were unlike the young man of England, Scotland and Wales, who in the middle stages of the war were obliged to serve in his Majesty’s forces whether they liked to do so or not. The young men of that congregation and of Ulster generally answered the call from within when they knew the motherland was in peril and indeed not they alone but Ulsterman all over the world-in Canada, the United States of America, and Australia. The same blood flowed in all their hearts, and there was the same desire on the part of all to stand up for their country and the Empire. They expressed the utmost gratitude to those who had gone forth from that place to save their motherland and had been spared in the great providence of God to return home. But, while they did that, they desired to show that they held in deepest reverence the memories of those who had given everything, even life itself, on behalf of the same cause. There were many present who felt keenly the loss of loved ones. They missed the touch of a vanished hand and the sound of a voice that was still; but he trusted that there was in their hearts a pride of the honourable part members of their families had played in the fight for freedom, crowning all their sacrifices by the one that was greatest.
The names of the heroic dead were then read from the pulpit by Rev. R. J. Porter, pastor, the congregation standing. The choir sang with very tender feelings the hymn “Sleep on beloved, sleep and take thy rest,” and the service concluded with the benediction.
In the afternoon the special preacher was Rev. A. Gibson, M.C., H.M.C.F., and in the evening the pulpit was occupied by Rev. Dr. Irwin.
Belfast News-Letter, Monday, November 3, 1919.
MEMORIAL ORGAN DEDICATED.
Three special services were held in Albert Street Presbyterian Church, Belfast, yesterday, [Sunday, April 3, 1921] when the new organ was installed as a memorial to the men of the congregation who fell in the great war and was dedicated. The organ, which was designed and built by Messrs. Evans & Barr, Ltd., of Belfast. It is an excellent instrument, containing the following stops :Great organ,-Open diapasou, 8ft. ; hohl flute, 8ft. ;dulciana, 8ft. ; and Lieblich flute, 4ft. Swell organ-Open diapason, 8ft. ; Lieblich gedacht, 8ft. ; oche gambs, 8ft. ; Vox Angelica, 8ft. ; gemshorn, 4ft. ; oboe, 8ft., and tremulant. Pedal organ-Bourdon, 16fy. Couplers-Swell octave, swell sub-octave, swell to great, swell to pedal, and great to pedal. Accessories-Two pneumatic composition pedals to great organ and two to swell. The action is tubular pneumatic throughout, and two detached console is placed in front of the pulpit, so that the organist is seated practically in the midst of his choir. The response to the key touch is instantaneous-although the keyboard is some forty feet from the pipes-and the repetition is all that could be desired. The electrical blowing installation is placed beneath the pulpit, and consists of a bellows with three feeders, which are actuated by an electric motor coupled by worm reduction gears to a three-throw crank shaft. This installation is quite silent and self-lubricating. The organ case is of polished pitch pine of very pleasing design, and harmonises perfectly with the other furniture of the church. The quality of tone, as demonstrated yesterday in a masterly manner by Mr. Robert Winnington, A.R.C.O. is refined in the extreme, and is quite adequate in power for every requirement of the church. The inscription on the instrument reads :-“This organ, dedicated April 3rd, 1921, is a memorial to the men of the congregation who fell in the Great War, 1914-1919. The names of the thirty-four men who made the supreme sacrifice are recorded on an artistic brass tablet provided by the Young Men’s Fellowship Association, and erected in the vestibule. The names are as follows :-
Lieutenant Thomas Adair, Lance-Corporal John Campbell, Private William Galway, Lance-Corporal William Gihon, Gunner Robert Glasgow, Corporal John E. Greenwood, M.M., Second- Lieutenant T. O. Halliday, Gunner David Hall, Private Hugh Harkness, Private William R. Hoey, Sergeant J. E. Hunter, Private John Kelso, Private Albert Laughlin, Sergeant J. Howard Mitchell, Lance-Corporal Edward Mooney, Corporal W. J. Morrison, Private Joseph M’Allister, Pte. Joseph M’Cracken, Private James M’Grath, Private Thomas M’Kee, Corporal Robert Nicholl, Private Edward Nixon, Private James Nugent, Private Robert Nugent, Sergeant Archibald Russell, Private Thomas Smyth, Private James Templeton, Private William J. Todd, Second-Lieutenant James Watson, Private Thomas Waugh, Private David Whiteside, Private James Wilson, Corporal W. R. Wilson, and Private Fred Young.
At the morning service the Rev. W. J. Lowe, D.D. (Moderator-designate), who dedicated the new organ, preached an appropriate sermon to a crowded congregation. Rev. R. J. Porter, B.A., (minister), congratulated Dr. Lowe on his selection to the Moderatorship of the General Assembly, and said it was an honour well deserved. Dr. Lowe thanked Mr. Porter for his kind reference, and paid a tribute to the successful ministry of the latter in that district, and previously in Armagh.
Rev. Dr. Lowe preached an appropriate sermon from the text :- “And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son”- II. Samuel i., 17. The preacher dwelt on the beauty and nobility of David’s memorial ode to Saul and the spirit of patriotism and forgiveness which characterised it. He said it was right that they should approach that memorial service in the spirit of that great ode. It was held, and that great organ had been provided in proud and grateful remembrance of the thirty-four members of that congregation who fell in the Great War. Their names were inscribed on a tablet, and he understood that another tablet would be erected containing the names of all the men who served and survived. All those men should be kept in everlasting memory. It was a grand thing to find men worthy and willing to undertake a task of search great self-denial, they would be untrue to those heroes and to themselves if they did not forever cherish them.
During the service the choir rendered the anthem “What are Those” (Stainer), and Mr. Winnington, who presided at the organ, play the “Dead March” and Saul.
Rev. R. Campbell, B.A., was the preacher at the afternoon service, and in the evening Rev. William Corkey, M.A., occupied the pulpit.
Tonight [Monday April, 4, 1921] at 7:30, there will be an organ recital in the church.
Belfast News-Letter, April 4, 1921.
=================================================================================================================================================
Albert Street Presbyterian Church closed its doors on the 31st January 1971. The war memorial tablet has been moved to West Kirk Presbyterian Church, which is located between Conway Street and Wilton Gardens on the Shankill Road (B39), Belfast.
The text on this page has been created from newspaper archive content and it may contain typographical errors. If you can supply additional information, photographs of War Memorials in the nine counties of Ulster, or wish to report errors, broken links, make comments, suggestions, requests, etc. please email
uwms@outlook.com
All contributions will be acknowledged.