Rossington War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1944, with additions for later C20 conflicts.

Reasons for Designation

Rossington War Memorial, 1944, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* 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;
* unusually it was raised by a British Legion Women's Section during the Second World War, and records almost twice as many casualties from that conflict as from the First World War, including two women.

Architectural interest:

* a simple yet poignant memorial in the form of a Greek cross, crafted in rough-hewn granite.

Group value:

* with the Church of St Michael (Grade II*).

History

Rossington War Memorial was erected within the churchyard of the Church of St Michael (Grade II*) in 1944. Although there was already a Rossington Main Colliery Roll of Honour and a stained-glass war memorial, which was unveiled in June 1928 at the Church of St Luke, New Rossington, it was felt that a public memorial was necessary to record all of the fallen of Rossington. When built, the memorial consisted of a granite cross, mounted on pedestal and inscribed with a simple dedication; however, when it was later moved to its present position, it was raised off the ground on a brick plinth and a bronze tablet, listing the names of all of the fallen was placed against it. The memorial stands within a later gravel and paved enclosure, formed by low brick carrier walls supporting railings, which abut the boundary wall of the adjacent churchyard of the Church of St Michael.

The memorial is unusual in a number of ways: having been erected in 1944, while the Second World War was still under way; to have been raised by a British Legion Women's Section; it records very nearly twice as many casualties from the Second World War than from the First World War (a reversal of the norm), and it includes the names of two service women killed during the Second World War; one a 19 year-old private in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and the other, a 25 year-old Women's Auxiliary Air Force aircraftwomen, both killed in 1943.

Details

First World War memorial, 1944, with additions for later C20 conflicts.

MATERIALS: granite, concrete, brick and bronze.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is situated on a corner site adjacent to the churchyard of the Church of St Michael. It comprises a simple rough-hewn Greek cross, with a tapering four-sided shaft, mounted on a tapering rectangular pedestal. The whole is raised on a simple, secondary brick plinth, capped with a projecting coping stone consisting of a plain concrete slab. An inscription in lead lettering is situated within a shallow rectangular recessed ashlar panel, on the north-east elevation of the pedestal; it reads: TO THE MEMORY/ OF THE FALLEN. / "WE WILL REMEMBER THEM."/ A TRIBUTE FROM THE ROSSINGTON/ BRITISH LEGION. WOMEN'S SECTION./ 1944. A rectangular framed bronze tablet rests against the plinth; it reads: IN MEMORY OF THE FALLEN OF THIS VILLAGE WHO PAID THE SUPREME/ SACRIFICE FOR US AND THE COUNTRY, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM/ THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE IN PEACE. The names of the Fallen are recorded under date headings on the tablet; 1914 - 1918 (25 NAMES), 1939 -1945 (43 NAMES, including two women), and POST 1945 (six NAMES).

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online - Rossington War Memorial, accessed 21 August 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/198228
Doncaster War Memorials - Rossington War Memorial, accessed 21 August 2019 from https://doncasterwarmemorials.weebly.com/rossington.html
Imperial War Museum War Memorial Register - St Michaels Church - Royal British Legion Memorial, accessed 21 August 2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/28111
Roll of Honour - Yorkshire Rossington Royal British Legion, accessed 21 August 2019 from https://www.google.com/search?q=Rossington+War+Memorial&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Roll of Honour, Yorkshire - Rossington, British Legion War Memorial, accessed 22 August 2019 from http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Yorkshire/RossingtomRBL.html

Other
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Thursday 21 June 1928, page 4, Village War Memorial, Stained-glass Window Unveiled at New Rossington

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