War Memorial Gravestones in Monk Bretton Cemetery

During both the First and Second World Wars re-repatriation of the bodies of fallen servicemen and women was not usual.  The Unknown Soldier, entombed in Westminster Abbey represents those buried and commemorated overseas who could not come home.  For many families, deprived of a graveside at which to mourn, one solution was to add the name of their lost son (or daughter) to the family gravestone in their local churchyard.  

The Imperial War Museum's War Memorials' Archive defines a War Memorial as "any tangible object which has been erected or dedicated to commemorate those killed as a result of war, conflict or peacekeeping; who served in war or conflict; or who died whilst engaged in military service."  This includes gravestones which commemorate a casualty buried elsewhere.  There must be a clear statement on the memorial (or in a printed document such as a newspaper report from the time) that defines the commemorative purpose of the feature and reports its erection. The full wording of their definition can be found here.

Thus gravestones which include wording such as: died of wounds received in action, killed in action, fell in France, died on active service, reported missing in action, or even killed accidentally while on active service all count as War Memorials.  The wording is a "clear statement" that the purpose of recording that person's name on the gravestone is as a memorial.

Graves which are situated on the site of the burial of a casualty, such as Commonwealth War Graves, are not War Memorials, however the Barnsley War Memorials Project is also collecting their details for inclusion in the Barnsley Roll of Honour.

There are 21 CWGC graves in Monk Bretton Cemetery.  We are currently preparing a page with photos and links for these burials.

Barnsley Family History Society started transcribing the memorial inscriptions in Monk Bretton cemetery a few years ago however they have not published them all yet.  A computer disk of inscriptions and memorials in the churchyard and church is available to buy. They should be able to provide information on the memorials in the cemetery by request to their Searches Officer.  We are grateful to the Barnsley Family History Society for providing a list of the memorial gravestones and their inscriptions for this cemetery.

In the list below, where the name is blue click to follow the link to a page with a larger photograph and more information.

Gravestone Location Section Row No.	Soldier's Name & Regiment Date of Death	Photograph
H 98	John Thomas Johnson 8th KOYLI 6 June 1917
A 222	Alice Hilda Lancaster T.F.N.S 3 June 1918
A036	John W Heath A.S.C. 8 January 1916
A159	Joseph Carr King's Own Yorkshire LI 16 September 1916
A188	Bernard White West Yorkshire Regiment 21 November 1917
A201	Samuel Gammons 8th East Yorkshire Regt 10 December 1916
B007	Charles Pickles Royal Field Artillery 14 March 1917
C088	Rowland Jones West Riding Regt 14 October 1918
E004	Thomas William Victory York & Lancaster Regt 1 July 1916
G014	Herbert Musgreave Liverpool Regt   28 October 1916 Thomas Musgreave Canadian Expeditionary Force 12 April 1917
G069	Robert Craven Royal Garrison Artillery 22 January 1917
G088	Thomas Hilton Horbury Royal Garrison Artillery 12 May 1917
I015	Henry Silcox (or Silcock) Kings Own Yorkshire LI 11 October 1916
*	*	*
A063	Albert McGowan    Royal Navy H.M.S. Cossack 23 October 1941
C067	Thomas Myers 14 June 1942	*
E029	Fred Trimby    Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 6/7 September 1943
E105	Alfred Goodman    Royal Scots Fusiliers 12 September 1944
O007	Amos Howe     51 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 1 March 1943
O010	Edward Bessant    West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own)   10 June 1942
P057	John Harrison   6th HAA Royal Artillery 11 May 1945
Q011	Harry Williamson   1st Irish Guards 30 January 1944

BWMP #MNK01