Bennetthorpe War Memorial

The Bennetthorpe War Memorial commemorates the First World War and Second World War, and was built in 1923 by Ernest Prestwich of Leigh. Constructed from Stancliffe sandstone from Derbyshire, the memorial faces north onto Bennetthorpe and aligns with the entrance to Elmfield Park to the south.

The memorial is an obelisk, 35 feet (10.6m) tall, topped by a stone statue of a grieving allegorical woman. The obelisk is built from large ashlar blocks and features a relief-carved laurel wreath at the apex of each face, beneath a fluted entablature and stepped plinth. The statue wears religious robes and a headdress, her head bowed and hands holding a laurel wreath. A slightly projecting band features a relief-carved geometric pattern near the base of the obelisk. On the north and south faces are relief carvings of the Borough of Doncaster coat of arms within a garter, accompanied by the borough motto "Confort et Liesse" (Comfort and Joy). A bronze broadsword, blade down, is attached above the coats of arms, resembling components of Sir Reginald Blomfield’s Cross of Sacrifice. The east and west faces of the obelisk each have a brass flag boss.

The square pedestal’s north face displays a rectangular relief plaque inscribed "OUR / GLORIOUS / DEAD /1914 – 1918," framed by stylised acanthus carvings, with "1939 – 1945" inscribed below. The other three faces of the pedestal have sunken rectangular panels depicting branches of the armed forces and civilians. The east panel shows the Royal Air Force eagle badge with a tableau including a child with a model plane, a blacksmith, an allegorical figure likely representing Victory, and a pilot. The west panel depicts Britannia and ships, identified as Drake's Golden Hind, Nelson’s Victory, a contemporary battle cruiser and a merchant ship. The south panel features St George flanked by a soldier and a Red Cross nurse. The pedestal stands on an irregularly stepped plinth.