Welcome to my Memorial Bench Stories blog. If you are looking for my campervan travels blog you need to move on to this blog Back On The Road Again.
Back On The Road Again tells about my journeys in a blue campervan and my journey to financial independence and early retirement with some thoughts on being frugal. I also highlight surprising places from my ex-home city of Salford.
I am a walker, a cyclist and campervan owner who now lives in Morecambe and I appreciate and often stop to rest at memorial benches. I always read the inscription and think about the person who has inspired friends or family to commemorate them with a bench in this place. Good inscriptions always tell you something about the person and make me wonder about their story.
I started to take photographs of the benches in 2010; both the view and the commemorative plaque and eventually started putting these on to this blog.
Each bench tells a story of someone loved and remembered. These are not celebrities, they are you and me. I hope to find out some of the stories of the lives of the special people who are commemorated in these benches; either through my own research or by people getting in touch. In January 2020 this blog was featured in a BBC article, ‘A quiet reminder of people gone but not forgotten.’
My first (no longer updated) blog is the story of my travels with my partner in our campervan until 2015, in particular our early 50s ‘gap’ year. You can find this here.
I have come across a couple of other blogs that are contributing to the recording of memorial benches:
In Memory Of … Memorial Bench dedications and views
Open Benches – provides gps information of almost 1,000 benches and anyone can add a bench to the list
Memorial benches & the stories of the people they commemorate 
Hello-my father in law just passed and we would like to commemorate a bench in his honor. He resided in Cheshire County. Do you know how one would go about doing this?
Thank you so much for any assistance you can offer.
Best
Karen
Hi Karen
Thank you for looking at my blog and I am sorry to hear of the loss of your father in law.
You would always have to get the permission of the landowner to erect a memorial bench. In some areas it is difficult to know who the landowner is but at Delamere Forest this is the Forestry Commission: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/delamere
The enquiry form at the end of the page in the link above might be a good start.
Good wishes
Carol
Hi Karen
Sorry to hear of the passing, we supply grade A teak memorial benches nationwide and have done since 1989. Since the introduction of the National Memorial Arboretum near us in Staffs we have noticed that alot of local authorties are a bit more reluctant to have benches on their land. should you still be looking please try the memorial section of our website.
http://http://www.gardenbenches.com/t/category/memorial-garden-benches?locale=en
We offer complimentory nationwide delviery service and a plaque or wood carving service should it be required.
Regards
Ed
My wife and I have a campervan – I cycle and we both walk – so similar. She also had an dea to start researching the inscriptions on benches, something to work on when we reach FIRE (financial independence and retire early).
What a nice idea – good luck with learning more about those remembered and their stories.
Paul
Interesting idea for a blog…some interesting stories. Keep it up!
Thank you.
Fantastic insight into commemorative benches. We come across many memorial stories as a bench and engraving provider. Please do drop us a line if you’d to chat!
Thank you for reading the blog, you must hear some fascinating stories when people order a bench.
Hi here is a link to the Bench Commemorated to George wall. in Bleadon Somerset.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/68645
I new George for many Years. He was A gentleman, Farmer by Trade, A stoic member of the Parish council for many years. Did a tremendous amount of good work in his life time for the local community. Many Happy times in the local pubs with him and his Family. The wall Family have been a part of somerset history going back years. Hope it helps. Tony. trustyrusttravels.com
Thanks for that and for the story. Much appreciated.
An interesting read. In the past when I have seen a memorial bench I hadn’t really thought much about it but after reading your blog I will look at them in a different way.
Thank you! I love thinking about the people the benches remember.
For an unusual bench, look up Pat’s Glade on Facebook
Thank you Ron, that looks a gorgeous place. I also have a page on Facebook – Carol Kubicki Travel Writer in a Campervan – it is an easy way to see when I have posted a new memorial bench story.
I was delighted to see the memorial bench dedicated to my father, Norman Baldwin, who was at RAF Crustan in Birsay, Orkney. He so loved the Orcadian people and made many friends there. My parents, my sister and I have been up to Orkney on a family holiday, and Dad introduced us to his lovely friends. They were such warm and generous people. I was only 10 years old at the time (in 1956), but I remember them well, as well as the beautiful place. I visited Orkney a second time with my parents in 1962 and my sister and nephew flew up to Orkney to arrange for the bench to be put in place with the memorial. It was placed in a special place for Dad. Thank you for the photograph and your tribute.
Elizabeth
Thank you so much Eluzabeth for reading my blog and commenting. Thank you too for adding to Norman Baldwin’s interesting life story. Orkney must have been a different place to visit in 1956 and 1962, you were lucky to go then.
Deepest gratitude to you for sharing a story of benches ‘A quiet reminder of people gone but not forgotten’.
(Pati-Pauwa,Chautari) is place where house or benches which is made in remembrance of loving memory of demise people , where passer-by can have a rest. I really do love sitting down on the benches and reading about the name of people. Love from Nepal…
Thank you. Pati-Pauwa,Chautari sounds a lovely place. I don’t find many memorial places in many other European countries, I like the tradition exists in Nepal.
Hi Carol,
I love the fact that you have an apt interest in memorial benches, and judging by some of the comments above, it’s most appreciated.
For me, it’s graveyards! I’ve always found graveyards to be most calming and peaceful. A place that I can read and contemplate my thoughts!
I live in the former Jewish Quarter in Berlin so I find it painful but equally fascinating to stroll through memorial / historical graveyards here and in Eastern Europe, take note of, and imagine the family history of the departed and their loved ones.
Thanks!
Thank you. I like to wander through graveyards too and read the memorials and think about the people they remember, imagining their stories. They are always peaceful places.
That is just so lovely! I always read the inscriptions on benches as well & think to myself that they must have been such wonderful souls!!
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog. I agree that anyone that merits a bench must be a special person and I love hearing their stories.