The main war memorial, commemorating all the men of Oldbury Urban District, was one of the last to be erected after considerable discussion on the form that the memorial should take. During this debate, a tank was used as the war memorial, situated on a plinth in the gradens of the Town Square. This, like most tanks, had been made at the Oldbury Carriage Works, and had been used for training Tank Corps members in England. The connection with Oldbury was a coincidence since the War Ministry presented redundant tanks to many town throughout Britain.

After all the delays and debates, the tank was finally towed away in 1926, and a very striking and dignified memorial in the form of a cenotaph was dedicated on 4th November that year. The unveiling was part of a grand ceremony. The Town Square was filled with Oldbury people and the Oldbury Territorials, and the gardens packed with dignatories representing the armed forces, local and national politicians and the church.

The guard of honour was provided by C Company of the 7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, the Oldbury Territorials. The guard was inspected by Sir Ian Hamilton, who also unveiled the cenotaph as part of a service led by the Archdeacon of Birmingham.

This drawing on the brochure for the unveiling ceremony describes the cenotaph thus:

"An Obelisk of Cornish Granite, with fine punched finish, elevated on landings of the same material. On the front and reverse of the Memorial the following Inscriptions are set in raised bronze letters respectively:

Front: "IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF OLDBURY WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1918"

Reverse: "AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER THEM"

Below the inscriptions these are two carved granite wreaths, and on each of the two sides is a granite cross in relief. The stone work is to be surmounted by a sarcophagus on a moulded support."

The cenotaph was positioned in the gardens that stood in front of the Town Hall and Public Buildings. Shortly afterwards the design of the square was altered to create a bus station in front of the Town Hall, and the area around the cenotaph reduced to a large oval road island. The cenotaph remained in the same place.

This was the first of many changes to the town square, but the cenotaph has remained the focus of Oldbury's Services of Remembrance since 1926. After the Second World War and subsequent actions the inscription has been amended by the addition of an 'S' to the word 'WAR', and the text "AND 1939-45 AND IN ALL OTHER CONFLICTS".

The cenotaph has no individual names, but part of the Council's memorial scheme was the creation of an 'Oldbury Book of Memory' which would contain the names of the men of Oldbury District who had been killed. The surname, forename, rank and regiment of each man was inscribed on the pages alphabetically, and the pages bound into a single volume. The original is protected in Sandwell Community History and Archives at Smethwick. Facsimiles may be viewed at the archives and at libraries in Oldbury, Langley and Warley.

This book contain 284 names, estimated to be about half of the men with connections to Oldbury Urban District who died in the war.

The Book of Memory is a fine piece of calligraphy and artwork.

Two of the artwork pages are shown below

The 'S' page is typical, originally containing twenty-one names, but two more have been added later, out of sequence. It contains the name of one of the two Oldbury soldiers to win the Distinguished Conduct Medal, but die in the war - CSM Thomas Frederick Slim of Langley.