Cortonwood Collieries First and Second World War, Knollbeck Lane, Brampton

Cortonwood Collieries Memorial (photo taken 8 February 2014)

This memorial used to stand on Pit Lane, Cortonwood, in front of the colliery offices. It was moved in 1985/86, after the colliery closed, to its current position beside the Brampton Parish Hall. The memorial was moved in one piece using NCB machinery and by the last few remaining coal miners.

A newspaper cutting supplied by local historians from the Brampton area, dated 7 February 1986 (newspaper unknown) reported the removal.

Len dies before his dream comes true

(photo)

A former miner died just before his dream was realised.

Len Turner's ambition was to make the monument commemorating miners who served during the First World War the focal point of the pit village of Brampton Bierlow, near Rotherham.

His battle has been won. But Len died just before his plan succeeded. After suffering a massive stroke he lay in a coma for the last six months of his life. He was cremated at Barnsley three days* before the monument was resited.

The 12 feet high monument was sited down Cortonwood Colliery pit lane. Unveiled in September 1919, it has four plaques bearing the names of the 571 miners who served and the 94 who died during the First World War.

Twice chairman of Brampton Bierlow Parish Council, Len, himself a miner at Cortonwood, felt the monument should be sited in the centre of the village for all to see.

"We never understood why the monument was sited down the pit lane. It should have been for all in the village. There are generations of families living in the village of those whose loved ones gave their all to the country during the war, said Len's widow Hilda, aged 62, of Knollbeck Avenue.

Talks were held between the parish council and Coal Board and finally it was agreed to find the monument, paid for by Cortonwood pit workforce and management, a new home.

A site was found but the resiting was delayed by the year-long miners' strike. Finally three years after talks began board officials carried out the resiting of the monument on the village fire station grounds off Knollbeck Lane.

Current parish council chairman Paul Hill, pleased the monument could now be seen by the entire community, said: "It was Len's plan and it is due to him. It is a great pity he is not here to see it."

*Len Turner was cremated at Barnsley on 21 January 1986 suggesting that the memorial was moved on about 24 January.

The memorial was originally unveiled on 17 September 1919 by Mr F. Howard Pochin, Chairman of the Cortonwood Collieries Ltd.  It was subscribed for by the company and the workmen. It was designed by Mr S. Perkins Pick. The sculptor was Mr J. H. Morcom of Leicester and it was erected by the Plasmatic Company. The Rev. James Cropper of Wombwell addressed the gathering.
(Information from the Unveiling Souvenir brochure)

The red pit wheel behind the stone column is a memorial to the men from the area who lost their lives in the Second World War. More information on the Geograph site linked below.


Links:

War Memorials Register listing

War Memorials Online listing

Lives of the First World War Community

Photo and Information on Geograph 

Information about Cortonwood Colliery on the Durham Mining Museum website

Cortonwood Memorial on Wombwell 1914 - 1918 (includes photos of the panels)

Photographs taken on 8 February 2014 by Nigel Croft and BarnsleyHistorian

Fully transcribed by BarnsleyHistorian in 2020

See also the Cortonwood Wesleyan Methodist Roll of Honour (external site)

About 56 of the men named on this memorial are also remembered on the Brampton Parish Hall Roll of Honour

Description:
The square section stone pillar is about 12 feet high and was described in 1919 as being in 'cenotaph form'.  On the sides there are four slate panels each with its own inscription and a list of names. The upper portion of the column is slightly narrower and above the panel naming the men who fell there is a circular panel headed by the inscription 1914 1919 and surrounded by laurel leaves (the wording on the panel is too weathered to read) and on two other sides are niches, now empty. Reproductions of the figures of a coal miner and a soldier which used to stand in the niches are kept elsewhere, but are replaced for special occasions such as Remembrance Sunday.

Names:
There are 94 men named on Panel 1 who fell in the war and a total of 498 who served and returned listed on Panels 2, 3 and 4.

Note that the names on this memorial were not listed in alphabetical order. On Panels 2, 3 and 4 the lowest row is completely out of order (maybe late additions) and on Panel 4 about half of the names are out of order.

Where further information has been discovered for any of these men it will be linked (look for names underlined and in blue) to a page on this site or to an external site.  In this way we try to avoid duplication and encroaching on the research of other groups and individuals.

Information in brackets is not on the memorial and is additional information added to aid research.

“Men of the Cortonwood Collieries who have Fallen During the War”
Panel 1

Hon Francis W S McLaren MP

S Burrows (Samuel Burrows) J Burland E Blackburn A Blaydes A Blacker G Ball M Barker (Mark Barker) G Clarke W Crook C Carr E Crookes W Clarke (William Clarke) P Cook G Garr G Chipchase C Cutler J Collindridge A Cocking T W Creamer W Clarke G Dodds (George Dodds) F Dickenson (Frank Dickinson) E Dunn S Ellis T Evans C Exley (Charles Exley) W Foster G R Frost C Guest J H Gray C Gunn T Holmes R Holmes W Haigh C Hayes (Charles Henry Hayes) J W Hewitt (James Willie Hewitt) E M Hitchin A Harley MM G H Harrison J Hardy P Harvey W Hargreaves S Hargreaves J Jones T Jacques C Jarvis H Kirkby

J Keefe J Lord C Leather E Lockwood S Mellor J Moorhouse (John Moorhouse) H D Moorhouse (Henry Dean Moorhouse) A Metcalfe G V Moore G Mangham W H Nightingale E Nuttall J B Outram H Pettitt F Pettitt (Frank Petitt) A Priest H Parsons W Rowbottom J W Rimmer A Robinson H W Ramsden H Robinson J S Smith A Sagar T E Smith C H Standish E A Scott (Edward Albert Scott) J T Smith H Skinner (Harold Skinner) G H Shepherd J W Speight MM H E Spence A Sylvester C Spencer M Scott G W Tabor (George William Tabor) G W Tate A T Taylor S Tomlinson (Sydney Tomlinson) T Watson A Winder T West G Wroe W Wilson B Williamson (Bertram Williamson) J Webster

“Men Who Joined H.M. Forces from the Cortonwood Collieries”
Panel 2

A Allsop M Allen J Andrews (John Andrews) I Allott T Atmore (Thomas Atmore) C Askin T Ayscough MM J Ball I Biram A Brooksbank Fd Butterfield D Bullins DSM A Bullins W Brieslin H Barker MM F Bunn R Brookes L Booth (Leonard Booth) T Boyle J R Bradley DCM P Bailey R Brown G W Bradley Fk Butterfield H Burgin R Buckley I Billings G Bell (George Bell) H Buncall T Boldy (Thomas Boldy) C E Beaumont (Charles E Beaumont) I Barker C Bristow (Cecil Bristowe) E Bolton T Barraclough L Butchers I Beddow M Barker R Buttwood Wm Blackburn E Broomhead F Beedon (Fred Beedon) J Barker F Barker W Barnes J Barton C N Barker E Broomhead P Beech E W Beardshall J Bartlett T H Bridge J Boyle	G Beaumont F Barker E Burkinshaw J Barlow P Bentley E Burgin A Bennett G H Ball J Barker T H Burrows A Barker F Bagnall I Butters C Booth H Beaumont W Bird S Barnes T Bentcliffe W Cooper L Crossland R Crossland A Calwell D Crowcroft G W Carter F R Clarke G Clegg J E Chapman (James E Chapman) C G Cooper J Clerehugh A E Cooke P Clarke T Collins J Cartwright G Clarke Ar Clarke Alb Clarke A Chambers (Alfred Chambers) D Cookes I Connelly L Carter H Carter H Cooper P Clerehugh G W Coxon E Cooper W Cutler F Cooper H Cooper W Cooper H Clarke S Clarke G Denton R Dixon	F Dobson S Davison L Dixon A E Davis W Dunkerly J Dudley J Dyson O Doughty W Dyson R Edge (Robert Edge) R Edge MM (Richard Edge) H Elliott R Eyre (Richard Eyre) H Eyre T Eltham G W Eyre L Evans S Ellis F Ellis B Ellham A Edge E Elkin J Edge J T Edwards MM A Firth (Alonzo Firth) E Foster H Fernehough J Foulstone MM W Farley A Farie J Froggard J Fisher J Flack J Fenton (Joseph Fenton) J Fowles A Fereday I Furr W Farmer (William Farmery) A Gibbins H Goddard G Gray MM A Grayson S Gascoyne (Sydney Gascoyne) A Greaves T Gregory J Gornall A Gibson I Green A Gibbs MM BCG W Griffin W L Gregory W Galloway R Gleadhall
S Varney	F Walker	C Whitehead

"Men Who Joined"
Panel 3

R Goodyear J Gill A Grayson W H Gummerson P Hafford G Harrison S J Hobson J E Harrop E Harding L Hirst (Larrett Hirst) F Holland (Frank Holland) J W Hall T Harding G Hodgson R Hartis F Hirst J Hartshorn (Jesse Hartshorne) A Holmes G Holmes J Hall G Howson E Hallsworth G W Hitchin A Hoyland P Humphries H Heatley (Henry Heatley) J W Harvey W Haywood G E Haynes MM R D Hudson A Hattersley M Hobson A Hollins A J Hutchinson MM H Hargreaves F Humphries R Hirst J Heppinstall A Hodgson F Horsfield E Hickling J Huddart B Harrison T Hughill A Hoyle C Halliday J Hirst (John H Hirst) E Hallsworth S Heathcote B Hoyle S Ibbeson L Ibbotson G H Ibbotson H Ives	G Jarvis J Jones J W Jenkinson A Jackson H Jones Jno Jones Wm Jones Wlf Jones G Jeninson Wh Jones H Jessop F Jarvis E Jones E Jones J Kenworthy H Kirkby R Kay F Kelham (Fred Kelham) C Kelly MM C Knowles E Kiddy A Kelly R Keene L Kitchen H Kirkman W Lindley E Lines G C Long J R Lee (John Richard Lee) T Ledger H Law G Longden MM G Lord H Lee E Law A Lambert J Lee A Leam T Lawrence W Long V Lowe H Longley J Love A Lilley E Longbottom C Law A Morton H Moulson A P L Maude T Bilburn H Moore S Moorhouse (Sydney Moorhouse) E Milner F Markham	H Markham J Marsden J Morgan O Mapes A Markham E Mapplebeck R Mangham A Morton H Houlson J McHale P McHale W Mansell J McCarthy W H Martin I W More W Millington E Marshall A Marsden G Norris P Nicholls W Norman H Nunn W Norman P Nelson G Nortcliffe W Newton F Norton H Newsholme A Nutt M O'Boyle (Michael O'Boyle) H Oliver G A Pepper J Ponter J Potts T A Rick H Parsons (Harry Parsons) G Parkin T Penketh T Potter (Thomas Potter) A Parkin E Parkin V Parkin J W A Parkin Alf Parkin C Parkin E Poole A Pilling (Alfred Pilling) F Pell S Potts D Pettinger A Pearson R Potter W Pott E Palmer
F Rose	Geo Roberts	H Sanderson

"Men Who Joined"
Panel 4

J B Plester F Parker H Quirk A Ryman G Rodgers E Roberts T Richardson J Ramshaw W Royston A Riley T Rose H Royston J Rowney T Riley W Rawling J Riley (James Riley) T Rose H Rose A Rance G H Ramsden G Ravenhill C Robinson J Renshaw D Reid E Rose L Sylvester H Swales (Herbert Swales) C Standish J Sykes (Joshua Sykes) E Smith B Smith M Smith H Smith E Smith W Standish F Sales J W Speight MM S Sharps (Samuel Sharps) H Spencer H Sykes H Speight F Schofield C Simpson (Charles Simpson) J Savage (Joseph Savage) S Smith E Stones I Baker G R Boyd C Brown C Carr A C H Cherry J R Clark F Crapper G Dilkes J A Dyer W E Drury	H Schofield M Sykes J Stones S B Sokell (Sydney Beckett Sokell) E Stanger L Spence J H Saunders A Stevenson H Senior R Smith A Smith H Sopps J Scott H Swift A Salkeld F Speight R Smith S W Staley F Spence E Smith F Sykes G Spivey J Stephenson H Sykes MM BCG E Stephenson W J Tomlinson F Turner G Thorpe J W Taylor H Taylor C S Taylor T A Taylor E Turner J Todd J Taylor J Turton O Turton J Trout A Tuxford S Taylor E Totty (Edward Totty) C Taylor W Taylor P Turner E Tesh A Taylor H Thwaley Ed Fearns H Finan J Fort E Firth J F Gaskin J Guest L Guest H Hurst A Hitchen	L Taylor T Timms J Timms G Tate H Tessyman L Vaines T Williams G Webb (George W Webb) J Windle (Joseph Windle) A Wildsmith H Westfield F Westfield H White H Waller A Wilson C Wilson MM J W Wilson G Wood A White T W Williamson G H Wood (George Henry Wood) A Wilson W H Winder J Watson W Wilkinson H Winder T Woolley A Wilkinson F Willis E Watkin W Waugh (William Waugh) E Waller F Wollin T Wall (Thomas Wall) A Whittaker F Wilson (Fred Wilson) A Wood A White J B Warner G Woffenden J Wood J Walker A White J Webster L Westfield S G Wood H Harper J Holmes J E Liversidge F J Myers H Medcalf T Millington G H Pye G Pye T Pashley W H Parkinson
T Proudley	G W P ?	F Purley

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