THE PROPOSAL FOR A MEMORIAL

The actual idea for a memorial began at a local council meeting on the 2nd November 1916, two years before the end of the Great War, when local councillor Joseph Sheldon put the idea forward.  He wanted to come up with a way of commemorating the local men who had fought in the defence of their country and suggested that a public meeting should be called to appoint a committee to move this forward.  He thought the time was very opportune, for there was “plenty of money in the district,” and that the public should be approached about raising subscriptions.  The resolution was carried unanimously, but the Chairman thought it was rather early to take the matter in hand because he believed that the war was a long way from being finished.  A public meeting was arranged for later that month in the Works School.

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At this public meeting, which was held on a Monday evening on the 13th November, Councillor Jones pointed out that there was need of a suitable building where concerts, entertainments and meetings might be held.  No other suggestions were made, and it was decided that a committee be formed to draw up various schemes, which would then be submitted at a further public meeting, and that representatives be appointed from societies in the district to form the committee.  The council’s assistant clerk Mr. G. Dyson was unanimously appointed secretary, and another meeting was to be held in December.  A representative of the Catholics, Mr. D. O’Connor, said that the Catholics were “quite in sympathy” with the idea that something should be done but he suggested “that the names of the shirkers, who had rushed into the works and got behind a badge” should be posted on the Council’s notice board [see note below about badges]

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Nothing seems to have come of these early meetings.  At the Council meeting held in early December it was reported that the next meeting had been arranged for the 11th December, but there was nothing at all reported in the local newspapers, so it seems as if it did not go ahead.  At the Council’s monthly meeting the following January the scheme wasn’t even mentioned.  It wasn’t until February 1919, three months after the end of the War, that the matter was brought up again, and once again the Council decided to hold a public meeting about a War Memorial and a notice was placed in the newspapers to advertise it.

Sadly, attendance was very poor, with only 81 people turning up.  Joseph Sheldon said the first thing to do was to determine if there should be a memorial, and the Chairman invited suggestions.  Ben Hey asked if the Council had come prepared with any scheme; they had not.  Albert Elson suggested a public hall capable of seating about 1500 people, with committee rooms attached, and also swimming baths and slipper baths.  This was thought to be a good suggestion, but rather expensive, at a cost of around £1 per head of the population.  Once again it was decided that a committee should be formed representing all the organisations in the district, including for example the ladies’ guilds and associations.  Mr. Sheldon was later appointed as the Council’s representative on the committee.  Initially it seemed that the idea of a public hall, with a memorial on the wall outside, would be the final decision, but still nothing happened.

A whole year passed before a notice appeared in the newspapers advertising another public meeting, to be held in the British Schools on 9th July 1920.  This meeting, although well-advertised, was very poorly attended, the local newspaper describing the local spirit as “apathetic.”  The idea of a public hall was discarded, and it was resolved that, subject to the site being obtainable, a public tower, with a clock, would be erected on Bocking Hill.  The plans for this were on public display during December 1920 and at another public meeting the plans were finally approved.  Subscribers were sought to raise money, which was not initially popular.  The land on which it was to be built was donated by Mr. Rimington Wilson of Broomhead Hall.  In January 1921 a letter appeared in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph from Mr. Coultas, the Chairman of the Council, appealing for funds for the memorial.  The estimated cost of the clock tower was said to be around £2,000, of which about £1,000 had already been promised or subscribed in sums varying from £5 to £500.  He thought that it should not be hard for a community of nearly 9,000 to subscribe the remaining £1,000 in smaller subscriptions.

In August that year the local newspaper was asking: “War Memorial.  ‘To be or not to be?’”  They reported that this question was causing many of the residents who had subscribed towards the Memorial to seriously consider if some of them would live long enough to see it built!  “The clock tower,” they wrote, “which it was proposed to erect on Nanny Hill, is still far away, owing, mainly, to the apathetic attitude shown by a great many people towards the project.  When it is remembered that nearly all the adjoining hamlets have their individual shrine, at which those who are left behind can place their tokens of remembrance, surely, in memory of those brave lads and lassies who gave their all for our liberty, the people of Stocksbridge are not going to further delay the memorial.  Perhaps now that the industrial clouds are clearer, we shall not long have to wait for our district memorial.” 

In fact, the people had to wait another two years, because the foundation stone was not laid until the 14th July 1923.  It was eventually announced that the memorial would take the form of a stone clock tower, with bells to chime the quarters.  The chosen architect was Mr. Wynyard Dixon of Sheffield, and the builders were to be J. Bradbury and Sons of Sheffield.  The clock would be erected by W. Potts and Sons of Leeds; the tower would be visible for miles, and equipped with a peal of bells to chime the quarters, half-hours and hours, and would have four clock faces.  

NOTE: these delays in getting anything done can perhaps be explained by a lack of money.  When Mr. Sheldon first proposed his scheme in 1916 he said there was “plenty of money in the district.”  Whether this was true or not, there certainly wasn’t after the War.  The 1920s were hard times, with many out of work and widespread coal stoppages.  Relief funds were organised locally; in July 1921 the local paper reported that relief had been granted to 1690 people.  359 families had been served and 6039 tickets for soup had been issued, with 378 gallons distributed.  Times were hard and perhaps it wasn’t apathy but poverty which affected the subscriptions to the War Memorial.  Not being able to feed your family or pay your rent would have had a big effect.

NOTE: “Behind a badge” is a reference to the “On War Service” or OWS badges worn by civilians during the First World War in order to indicate that the person wearing it was on engaged in important war work.  Several of these badges were officially produced and distributed nationally but many more were produced privately by companies to support their employees.  Before conscription was introduced in 1916, the army relied on voluntary recruitment. It was assumed by many that a man not in uniform was avoiding joining up and was therefore often accused of shirking their duty to their country. The famous white feather campaign saw men not in uniform presented with a white feather as a symbol of cowardice.  The official badges were intended to prove that the wearer was doing their duty to their country in a time of war in a different way. They were not in uniform, but they may have been working in munitions factories, steelworks or in the dockyards carrying out work that was vital to the war effort.  Female shift workers also wore the badges, which could give priority boarding and fare concessions on public transport, as well as indicating that there was nothing disreputable about these ladies travelling alone at night.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/on-war-service-badge