Shipley War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1921, by Messrs Wright and Son, with Second World War additions

Reasons for Designation

Shipley War Memorial, erected 1921 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.

Architectural interest:

* an elegant and well-executed memorial in the form of a slender Latin cross, employing good quality materials and craftsmanship.

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 Shipley as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community, who lost their lives during the First World War.

Shipley War Memorial was erected by Messrs Wright and Son, who have a number of listed war memorials to their name, opposite the cemetery chapel in Nab Wood Cemetery. It was paid for by the Shipley Ladies' Committee and public subscription. It was unveiled by Lieutenant Colonel A L Mowat, DSO, MC, of Cleckheaton, one of Britain's most distinguished soldiers, in front of a crowd of between 2,000 and 3,000 persons on 23 April 1921 at a ceremony led by the Reverend Hugh J Saunders, assisted by three other clergymen. In addition to a number of local dignitaries, including Mr Norman Rae MP, the ceremony was attended by the mothers, widows, and relatives of the Fallen. After a number of speeches, the Last Post was sounded by Mr John Paley, before flowers and wreathes were laid at the foot of the memorial. A parchment scroll bearing the names of the men from Shipley, Windhill and Saltaire, who fell during the First World War, was placed in a cavity within the memorial. A bronze scroll, inscribed with the names of the Fallen was later installed in the porch of the adjacent Nab Wood Cemetery Chapel.

The inscription originally read: TO THE/ MEMORY OF/ OUR GLORIOUS/ DEAD and: ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF SHIPLEY, WINDHILL, AND SALTAIRE/ AS A MEMORIAL TO THE MEN WHO/ LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919. Following the Second World War, the second part of the inscription was removed and the dates of the two conflicts were added to the memorial. Calls to relocate the memorial to a more central location began in 1941, but it was not until November 1947 that Shipley Urban Council approved in principle the removal and re-erection of the memorial to another location. It is unclear when the memorial was moved, but newspaper reports indicate that it occupied its current location in Crowgill (Crowghyll) Park by 1953 with the memorial being placed on the site of a former bandstand and using the kerbstones from that structure.

Details

First World War memorial, 1921, by Messrs Wright and Son, with Second World War additions

MATERIALS: Creetown granite

PLAN: octagonal

DESCRIPTION: Shipley was memorial is located on the site of a former bandstand; it stands on a raised mound laid with flower beds and is enclosed within octagonal-plan kerbing (re-used from the bandstand structure). The memorial consists of a Latin cross that has capped terminals and a stylised sword in relief, mounted on a slender tapering shaft. It has a moulded capital and base, which rises from an octagonal-plan plinth that stands on a three-stepped base. The south face of the plinth has inset metal lettering that reads TO THE/ MEMORY OF/ OUR GLORIOUS/ DEAD, with 1914 - 1919 and 1939 - 1945, inscribed respectively on the south-west and south-east faces of the plinth.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials on Line: Shipley, accessed 1 July 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/238982
Traces of War: War Memorial Crowgill Park, accessed 1 july 2019 from https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/17586/War-Memorial-Crowgill-Park.htm
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register: Nab Wood Cemetery Cross, accessed 1 July 2019 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/28583

Other
Shipley Times and Express, 15 April 1921 p4, 29 April 1921 p2, 18 November 1942 p9, and 11 November 1953 p1.
Yorkshire Post and Intelligencer, 4 November 1941, p 9.

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