On the Imperial War Museum’s blogging service there was a recent post which was of interest to the Goole First World War Research Group. The subject in question was that of Portrait Window Memorials.
An enquiry to the Imperial War Museum asked how rare it was for the portrait of an individual casualty to be memorialised in a stained glass window. The answer given was that whilst the names of the fallen was the usual focus of commemoration on memorials some memorials do include a portrait of the dead and stained glass windows are a particularly expressive, and expensive, example of this. The Imperial War Museum has 11 definite examples of Portrait windows. The original response can be found using the link - http://ukniwm.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/portrait-window-memorials/. One such example of a Portrait window can be found in the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist, Goole.
The dedication on the window reads as:
“IN MEMORY OF A GALLANT SON LEIUTENANT ERNEST CONWAY-LANSDALE DIED IN FRANCE SEP 30TH 1916 ERECTED BY HIS LOVING PARENTS”
The window depicts Lieutenant Conway-Lansdale in an Officer’s army uniform and above his head the emblem of the Royal Flying Corp and a RFC aeroplane. Christ is shown kneeling before the Lieutenant and above this Angels. The bottom of the image depicts an Angel flying over a field of graves with a look of despair.
Lieutenant Conway-Lansdale was a member of the Lancashire Regiment and later became attached to the Royal Flying Corp, serving in 11 Squadron. The Lieutenant is recorded as being shot down by the Barron Von Richthofen (The Red Baron) and then possibly died whilst a Prisoner of War. Born in Goole he was the elder son of Captain E. E. Lansdale, A.S.C. of Hawthorn Villas, The Grove, Ilkley.
