A wall ……. the plaques …….. and the story of the men who went to fight

I will have passed these brass plaques countless times and never stopped to study them.

They are on one of the walls of the Northern Quarter Car Park which is bounded by Tib Street, Thomas Street, Red Lion Street and Church Street.

Below the five plaques there is one of those modern murals which pepper the Northern Quarter which in this case is a field of poppies.

The mural is a fairly recent addition to what had been a space which for a while was dominated by public lavatory and a set of railings which prevented the curious from getting a good look at the inscriptions.

But now they are easier to see, even if like me you passed them by.

They record the men who worked for J. & N. Philips during the last two world wars, but interestingly contain only some of those who went off to fight.

So, looking at the Manchester City Battalions Book of Honour, which lists those who enlisted in the first few months of the war and joined the Pal’s Battalions the entry for J. & N. Philips, stretches across four pages and includes the names of 360 men.

My Wikipedia tells me that “J. & N. Philips and Company was a business established in 1747 by members of the Philips family, and which ceased trading in 1970. 

Originally based in Tean, Staffordshire, England, the business was a manufacturer of textile products that expanded both by organic growth and by taking over other businesses involved in the manufacture and merchanting of textile products and smallware. 

It formed a part of a network of companies operated by the family, whose business interests came to include manufacture of hats and textiles such as linen smallwares, silks and fustians, as well as cotton spinning and dealing, power loom weaving, export merchanting and general warehousing. 

The family made the majority of its wealth from their involvement in the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. 

The family was also involved in politics, with George Philips, Mark Philips and Robert Needham Philips all being Members of Parliament and all promoting the ideals of Manchesterism while in office. George's son, George Richard Philips, was also a member of the House of Commons”.*

And from 1826 till 1969 the firm occupied the corner of Tib Street, Church Street and Red Lion Street in what is now a big chunk of the present car park.

In time I will go looking for pictures of the building and follow up on the names of the men listed on the plaques, but for now that is it, leaving me just to reflect that if it hadn’t been for an idle half an hour waiting for the family I would have not taken pictures of the plaques, and so started off on the journey of discovery.

Added to which I doubt I would have delved into the story of J. & N. Philips, made the link with the MP Mark Philips, or once again pondered on the connection between Manchester and the slave trade.

Location; Manchester

Pictures, remembering those who fought, 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*J. & N. Philips, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._%26_N._Philips