Shepley War Memorial

The Shepley War Memorial is a war memorial erected in 1921, designed by sculptor J Swift from Doncaster. The bronze statue was cast by Messrs Benton Brothers at the Rodley Lane Foundry in Sheffield, with additional inscriptions added after the Second World War.

The memorial is located in an elevated position near the recreation grounds southeast of Shepley. It features a bronze statue of an infantry soldier in full service dress, complete with boots, puttee, uniform, webbing, ammunition pouches, flask, backpack, and helmet, holding a rifle with a fixed bayonet in the rest position. The soldier stands with his head bowed solemnly, facing the village of Shepley.

The structure includes a tapered Cornish granite pedestal, plinth, and stepped base. The pedestal has a moulded base, string course, and cornice. On the front (north-west) face of the pedestal, there is a bronze plaque with the inscription: "ERECTED TO THE GRATEFUL MEMORY OF OUR/ BROTHERS WHO SERVED FOUGHT AND FELL IN/ THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918/ IN MEMORIAM/ [NAMES]/ RIP." Below this is a smaller bronze plaque with a single name. The north-east face of the pedestal features a plaque inscribed with "NAMES OF MEN WHO SERVED/ [NAMES]." The other faces carry plaques inscribed with names, totaling 261 names of those who served during the First World War.

On the base of the front face of the pedestal, there is an additional bronze plaque added after the Second World War, inscribed with "1939-1945/ [NAMES]/ NOT JUST TODAY BUT EVERYDAY IN SILENCE WE REMEMBER," which includes eleven names of those who lost their lives. Above the string course at the top of the pedestal, a plaque added in 2014 commemorates those who have served in subsequent conflicts, inscribed with "HONOURING THOSE WHO STAND/ AND SUFFER IN CONFLICT."