HARTHILL WAR MEMORIAL CROSS
DEDICATED BY THE BISHOP OF SHEFFIELD
15th August 1920
HONOURING THE FALLEN
Harthill War Memorial Cross was dedicated as a “permanent token of the honour and gratitude due to Harthill men who during the war laid down their lives that others may live,” was unveiled and dedicated with befitting ceremony. The memorial cross replaced the ancient village cross of which the base still remains a little to the further south under the shadow of the Rectory wall. stands adjacent to Union Street, and the names of the fallen in the 1918 - 1919, and the 1939 - 1945 world wars are inscribed on a tablets fixed to the rectory wall immediately behind the cross.
Harthill War Memorial Cross
The cross is carved from Portland stone, and was designed by Mr. J. D. Webster, Architect, Sheffield, the sculptors were Messrs., Tory and Sons, also of Sheffield.
The total cost of the cross was approximately £350, but liberal have donations were received, and the secretary of the original Memorial Committee Mr. Cass Wilkinson Smith, former 2nd Lt. Durham Light Infantry, was able to state that the debt has been cleared with the exception of a £5 sum, which would be realised without difficulty.
The committee at the opening ceremony included members of the Parish Council and the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Fund Committee. The Chairman of the Council, Mr. W. Brady, was also the head of the committee, and Mr. C. W. Smith carried out the duties of both the Secretary and Treasurer.
The WWI tablet is inscribed as follows:
“To the glory of God and in honorary memory of the Harthill men who laid down their lives in the Great War 1914-19. This cross was erected by their fellow parishioners
| Private A Allison | 1st South Wales Borderers |
| Private Jn Baxter | 3rd Lincolnshire Regiment |
| Private W Covell | 8th East Yorkshire Regiment |
| Private J T P Ellis | 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment |
| 1st Warrant Officer Geo H Field | Royal Marines |
| Private R Featherstone | 9th York and Lancaster Regiment |
| Private H Gay | 1st Northumberland Fusiliers |
| Sergeant R Jones | 9th York and Lancaster Regiment |
| Private A Jones | 9th Notts & Derby Regiment (Sherwood Foresters) |
| Driver F Moseley | Army Service Corps |
| Private E E Renshaw | 27th London Regiment |
| Private A A Smith | 1st Grenadier Guards |
| Private H Smith | 14th York and Lancaster Regiment |
| Private G Waplington | 1st Coldstream Guards |
1939 1945
The WWII tablet is inscribed as follows:
| E Bradshaw | H Highfield |
| D Snowden | M Turnbull |
| W Vergette |
Further details of the fallen, and others who served can be found on the Word War I and World War 2 Pages of this website.
The original 1920's ceremony of unveiling and dedication of the war memorial cross was attended by the discharged and demobilised soldiers and sailors of the parish who marched to the scene under the command of Ex-Sergeant Major Bateman. The 10th (Harthill) Troop of Boy Scouts, with bugles and drums, also paraded, and behind them marched the schoolchildren., the roadway being filled over a large area when the ceremony commenced with the singing of “Oh God, our help in ages past.” the majority of the Councillors and members of the committee were present, including the Chairman and Secretary, and others present were Messrs. W. Burman and G. Turner, churchwardens, and the organist Mr. A. Harvey. The full choir attended. The cross was veiled with the Union Jack, and flags at half-mast, flew on either side. There was also a flag on the Church tower, and many residents hung them from their windows.
The clergy present were the Bishop of Sheffield, the Right Rev. Dr Burrows, by whom the cross was dedicated, and the Rector of Harthill, Canon Darley. The cross was unveiled by Mr. E Soar, the manager of Kiveton Park Colliery.
The form of the service used was compiled by the Rev. J. Jessop Teague, M.A., and after the opening hymn prayers for the departed and the bereaved were recited by the Rector, and Psalm 130 was sung, followed by the lesson.
Mr Cass Wilkinson Smith, on behalf of the committee and the parish, then handed over the cross to the care of the Parish Council, and addressing Mr. Brady, requested that the Council would keep the memorial in all due sacredness and honour.
Replying on behalf of the Council, Mr. Brady accepted the care of the cross, and remarked that it was not only the present Council under whose care it would rest, but also those of the future, as it would ever stand to the memory of those names it honoured. The cross was then unveiled by Mr. Soar the manager of Kiveton Park Colliery, followed by a dedication by the Bishop of Sheffield.
Download the full Worksop Guardian report
Further Research from the Worksop Guardian and other documents carried out by E. J. Mullins, Harthill Memories and History Society, and Stephen Sullivan LCSA - Inspire Culture, Worksop Library