Thurnscoe War Memorial

The memorial stands in Thurnscoe Park. It comprises a statue of an infantryman in uniform holding his rifle, standing on guard. The figure is elevated on the limestone capital, decorated with dentiles, of a Classical pillar in sandstone, which rises from a square limestone plinth. The plinth is surmounted by recumbent fasces and stands on a three-stepped square base.

The front face of the capital is incised THE/ GREAT/ WAR framed by 1914 1918. On the front face of the pillar is a brass plaque depicting the figure of an angel standing on an outcrop of rock, holding a sword in one hand and an upraised laurel wreath in the other. The wings and the sword are outlined in white enamel and the laurel wreath in green; the rest of the figure is outlined in black. A large plaque on another face of the pillar records the names of those who fell in the First World War.

The inscription on a bronze plaque on the front face of the plinth reads ERECTED/ BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION/ TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY/ AND IN RECOGNITION OF/ THE SUPREME SACRIFICE/ MADE BY THE ABOVE NAMED/ PERSONS OF THIS PARISH. Plaques on the other faces of the plinth record additional names and dedications to both the Second World War and the Falklands Island conflict.

Originally the memorial was surrounded by a low kerb with eight low pillars carrying an enclosing chain. These have been replaced with four low corner walls made of brick. Behind the memorial, at the edge of the surrounding path, a new stone commemorating the centenary of the start of the First World War has been laid in front of a square enclosure, designed for the display of Royal British Legion crosses and poppies. The brick walls and the new, separate, stone with enclosure, are not of special interest.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 31 January 2017.