Totley War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1920, with Second World War additions, standing within a walled courtyard.

Reasons for Designation

Totley War Memorial, erected 1920, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;

* the memorial is unusual as it records a larger number of casualties from the Second World War than the First World War, and a female casualty is included in the list of the Fallen.

Architectural interest:

* a simple yet poignant memorial in the form of a plain Latin cross with a punched surface finish.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Totley as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 10 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

A fund to raise money for a war memorial in Totley had been set up by January 1919, with residents encouraged to contribute towards the cost of the proposed memorial. The plot on Baslow Road, on which the memorial stands, was offered to the war memorial committee in July 1919 by the Reverend WR Gibson, the Vicar of Dore. The memorial was dedicated on 27 November 1920 at a service conducted by the Venerable Archdeacon EF Crosse. After the service, the memorial was given into the care of the parish council by Mr E Adams. Following the Second World War, a plaque commemorating the 13 Fallen of that conflict was added to the wall to the rear of the memorial. This required a slight alteration to the wall and to the position of the First World War plaque. Unusually, more casualties are recorded on the memorial for the Second World War than for the First World War, and the list of the Fallen is unusual, for the inclusion of the name of a female soldier, Lance Corporal Edna Mary Wilkin (died 7 October 1943, aged 20), who was in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, manning a searchlight site.

Details

First World War memorial, 1920, with Second World War additions.

MATERIALS: granite cross, gritstone walls, and bronze plaques.

DESCRIPTION: Totley War Memorial consists of a plain granite Latin cross, with a punched surface finish, on a three-stepped base. The memorial stands on a D-plan paved courtyard and is enclosed by low quarry-faced rubble walls, with ridged coping stones. A continuous wall encloses the sides and the rear of the courtyard; the section immediately to the rear of the memorial rises in height to form a reredos, with two bronze plaques set within. The left hand plaque, bears the inscription in relief: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND/ IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF/ (NAMES decorated with lengths of Celtic knot to infill line space)/ OF THIS PARISH/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN/ THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919. The less elaborate right hand plaque reads IN REMEMBRANCE/ (NAMES)/ 1939 1945. The two ends of the wall terminate in ashlar posts, with moulded cornices and pyramidal cap stones. Two lengths of shouldered walling descend from the posts, to form the front wall, which has a central opening, flanked by two shorter posts of a similar design.

Sources

Books and journals
Burnett, , Marin, J, Prosser, D, Totley War Memorial WW1, (2011)

Websites
War Memorials Online - Totley, accessed 14 March 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/96657
Imperial War Museum War Memorial Register, accessed 14 March 2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/27553

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