War Memorial - Silkstone

 

SILKSTONE WAR MEMORIAL

Fund raising began in 1919 to provide Silkstone with its’ memorial to honour the fallen of the Great War, and it was on 8th Oct 1922 that it was unveiled in a ceremony attended by military officers, ex-servicemen, religious figures, the village band and hundreds more who attended to pay their respects.


A number of fundraising events including garden parties, teas and socials, whist drives and concerts plus house to house collections and donations from local businesses and dignitaries had raised the necessary funds.

The total cost of providing the memorial was £396 15s 3d which included £347 16s to local contractor Albert Edward Gelder to supply and erect the memorial. There was a deficit of about £30 which was paid into the funds by JE Cowcill.

The memorial was situated on the corner of the churchyard, and built into the old church walls opposite the road to Cawthorne.



For almost 50 years Armistice Day would be commemorated on the roadside and the small number of vehicles in the early days would wait until the service was finished. Apart from regular cleaning and the letters being re-done in 1950, the war memorial remained untouched, but in the late 1960s the tight bend at the top of Church Hill was becoming a problem as traffic increased, particularly after the motorway was built, and the memorial stones were damaged more than once by large lorries trying to navigate the tight bend.





In 1968 a decision was made to re-site the memorial to prevent further damage. This coincided with a scheme to improve the road layout which would have meant moving it anyway. After considering a location on the grass in front of the bungalows opposite the Ring O Bells, a site in Martin Croft was chosen and the memorial was moved in January 1972 and re-dedicated in a ceremony held on 3rd Sept 1972. The cost of moving the memorial, paid for Barnsley Council was around £2,000. Local artist Ashley Jackson designed the programme cover for the ceremony.

The move and the re-dedication service was organised by the Royal British Legion with help from its’ newly formed women’s section. Roses, donated by Horsfield’s Nursery were planted on both sides of the memorial.


If the Parish Council thought that moving the memorial would prevent further damage, they were unfortunately wrong. In Dec 1977 the cross was damaged again and the devastation was far worse than that caused by lorries knocking the plinths. This time children using the cross for a rope swing caused the cross to collapse and break into pieces. Serious concerns were raised as to whether it could be repaired.





Thanks to the Royal British Legion, the cross was repaired, but it had to be shortened from 11 feet to 8 feet.


This November (2025), despite its’ knocks and damage, it has survived and Silkstone War Memorial will be the centre of the Armistice Day parade and service for the 104th year.


Research and text Andy Horsfield - Heritage Silkstone 2025 (acknowledgement to Roma Blower)








Comments

  1. Gary Hawley21 March 2026 at 07:05

    Thank you for preserving the history of this important Silkstone landmark

    ReplyDelete

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