Somme 100 Commemorations in Barnsley July to November 2016

The Battle of the Somme lasted from 1 July 1916 to 18 November 1916. It is particularly poignant for Barnsley because it marked the first battle for many of our volunteer soldiers, and for many it was also their last.  

On 1 July 1916 297 Barnsley men lost their lives and hundreds more were wounded or reported missing.  The confusion was such that the date of death of many of the men eventually recorded as killed in the first few days of the battle cannot be taken as certain.  The total number of Barnsley men killed in the whole of July 1916 is 494.  This is many, many more men than were killed at any other time during the war. We can scarcely imagine the effect this must have had on the towns and villages in our area. Men who had worked together had died together, some families lost more than one member, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, cousins - communities were devastated.

Deaths by month for Barnsley Men During the First World War

The total of Barnsley losses during the Battle of the Somme was 809 men (at our present count) and these included men from a whole range of regiments.  Not just the Barnsley Pals (13th & 14th Battalions of the York and Lancaster Regiment) and other Yorkshire Regiments but also Barnsley men serving in Lancashire Regiments, London Regiments, Scottish Regiments, the Royal Medical Corps and many, many more. A number of Barnsley men who had emigrated to Canada and Australia and who were fighting in those countries' Forces fell during the Battle. 

For more information please contact us bwmp2015@gmail.com or via Facebook or Twitter.

We published a partial list of the events we knew were taking place in Barnsley in our June newsletter, needless to say in the past week or so more have come to light. You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter where we will post updates when we receive them.

On this page we will list any and all events, displays, commemorations, services, in fact any show of respect and commemoration for our Barnsley men during this, the 100th anniversary of their service at Battle of the Somme.

Commemorative Events

Date & Time	Event	Organising Body	Venue
Friday 1 July  6.30am	Vigil, Whistle Blowing, Wreath Laying	Barnsley War Memorials Project	Barnsley War Memorial
Friday 1 July 7.30am	Period of Reflection		Dodworth War Memorial
Friday 1 July 7.30am	Remembrance Service	Barnsley Pals Scooter Club	Silverwood Scout Camp
Friday 1 July 7.30am	Tolling of Single Bell	Across West Yorkshire Diocese	Darton Church, St Edward's Church, Kingstone
Friday 1 July 10am	Service & Reading of Names		Penistone War Memorial
Friday 1 July 10am to 2.30pm	Open Day	Royston History Group	Royston Library
Friday 1 July 10am to 12 noon	Exhibition & Coffee Morning	Wombwell Heritage Group	Wombwell Library
Friday 1 July 11am	Service	Dodworth War Memorial Group & Church Council	Dodworth War Memorial
Friday 1 July 11am	Lighting of Candle & Prayers		Elsecar Holy Trinity Church
Friday 1 July 12.45pm	Commemoration & Public Art Launch	Experience Barnsley	Barnsley War Memorial
Friday 1 July 1.30pm	Service & Displays		Silverwood Scout Camp
Friday 1 July 4pm	Battle of Somme Memorial		Amphitheatre, Kendray
Friday 1 July 6pm	Commemoration	Friends of Wombwell Cemetery & British Legion	Wombwell Cemetery
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Thursday 7 July 10.30am	Remembrance Service	Thurnscoe History Group	Thurnscoe Park
Monday 11 July 10.15am	Dedication of Somme Memorial Garden	Cudworth Environment Group	Cudworth Park

Exhibitions and Displays 

Dates	Event	Organising Body	Venue
1st to 29th July	Heroes of the Somme Exhibition	Thurnscoe Local History Group	Thurnscoe Library
From 1 July  all summer	Exhibition of Photographs & Memorabilia	Wombwell Heritage Group	Wombwell Library
24th August to 20 November	Stories of the Somme Exhibition	Experience Barnsley	Barnsley Town Hall
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Please help us keep this list up to date and inclusive.  
Contact us on bwmp2015@gmail.com with any updates.

 

War Memorial Gravestones in Thurnscoe 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.

Thurnscoe Cemetery contains 4 WW1 & 7 WW2 memorial gravestones + 10 CWGC burials

Plot letters at Thurnscoe from notice board

The Cemetery opened in 1902 yet there are no WW1 CWGC graves. Two ex-soldiers who died in 1920 are buried in the Cemetery but neither has been recognised by the CWGC despite the inscription on John Smith's grave indicating his death was due to wounds received in France.

Ernest Collingwood d.1/06/1920  buried plot D 363
John Smith d.21/11/1920 buried plot E 25

There is also a grave for an ex-soldier who died after the CWGC cut off 31 August 1921.

Arthur Morton d. March 1929 buried plot D 274

The Cemetery was the original home of the Dearne Memorials Group now Barnsley Cemeteries who have indexed all the cemeteries and cremations in the area up until almost the present day. Searches of their database are free and results are a very reasonable £3.50 for 50 credits.

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
F 17	Fred Barber King's Own Yorkshire LI 8 July 1916
D 448	William Bennison Royal Artillery 25 December 1942
D 111	Jack Crackle KOYLI 22 Jan 1944
E 46 & 47	Charles Henry Glasswell King's Own Yorkshire LI 13 December 1915
D 246	Frederick Walter Glasswell Gordon Highlanders 4 November 1944
E 2 62	John Lawton Seaforth Highlanders 4 August 1918
F 25	Arthur Moulton Coldstream Guards 17 February 1944
C 214	John Addison Robinson  Royal Engineers 2 June 1941
E 110	Robert Steward Rodgers Royal Navy H.M.S. Fearless 24 July 1941
*	William Smith * WW2	*
F 325	Thomas Trueman Cameronians  (Scottish Rifles) 18 April 1917
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*	John Cutts  York and Lancaster Rgt 30 September 1917
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BWMP #THN10