Deepcar
St. John's Church
Commemorating the men from Deepcar who lost their lives whilst serving during World War I (1914-1918)
This memorial tablet was erected by the parishioners of St. John's church in memory of 27 members of the church choir and Bible Class who lost their lives in the war. It was dedicated in October 1920 during a service for the Harvest Festival. The choir sang, “Crossing the Bar” prior to the dedication by the vicar.
Photo credit: Sally Jowitt
To the Glory of God, and in proud and loving memory of those who gave their lives for their country
in the Great War 1914-1918
Bomb. W. Attwood - R.F.A.
Pte. D. I. Brearley - York & Lanc.
Pte. A. Button - Cameron Highlanders
Pte. E. R. Buxton - York & Lanc.
Pte. A. Couldwell - York & Lanc.
Pte. L. Duffield - Durham L.I.
Pte. M. Dyche - Royal Scotch Fusiliers
Pte. W. H. France - Coldstream Guards
Pte. J. Green - York & Lanc.
Pte. F. Hart - K.O.Y.L.I.
Pte. W. Harper - Royal Warwick
Pte. F. Hirst - K.O.Y.L.I.
Pte. G. Howarth - Coldstream Guards
Pte. E. Hukin - East Yorks.
Pte. J. Raynes - Northumberland Fusiliers
L/Cpl. L. Robinson - York & Lanc.
Pte. W. Sanderson - York & Lanc.
Cpl. L. Sanderson - York & Lanc.
Pte. D. Schofield - York & Lanc.
Cpl. S. Senior - West Riding
Pte. B. Shaw - York & Lanc.
Pte. A. Smith - West Yorks.
Pte. C. Tattersall - York & Lanc.
Pte. E. Tingle - West Yorks.
Pte. W. H. Topps - K.O.Y.L.I.
Pte. C. Watkinson - K.O.Y.L.I.
Pte. G. Whittaker - Royal Sussex
“For Saving Us, Themselves They Could Not Save.”
There is another memorial in the church, fixed to the wall behind the choir stalls. This one is dedicated to a particular person, Private Anthony Button of the Cameron Highlanders. It reads:
To the Glory of God and in memory of Private Anthony Button, 4th Cameron Highlanders, Killed at Loos, Sep 26th 1915. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
This tablet was erected by his fellow members in the Choir. R.I.P.
The tablet was the work of David Brearley, a local builder and mason, who also made the war memorial cross which stands in the churchyard at Bolsterstone. Two of David’s sons Archie and David Ivor fought in France, but sadly Ivor did not return. The tablet was unveiled and dedicated before a large congregation on Sunday 3rd June 1917, a month after David Ivor had been killed. Special hymns were sung, and and after the lesson Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar” was rendered by the choir and congregation, Master H. Vardy taking the solo part. At the close and while the congregation were standing the choir sang the anthem, “The long day closes” by Arthur Sullivan.
In 1935 another memorial was installed in the church, this time in the form of a carved oak reredos (an ornamental screen covering the wall behind the altar). The money was raised mainly by the St. John’s Church branch of the Mothers’ Union. This group was set up by the vicar’s wife, Mrs. Foster, in 1933 and they raised money to supplement a sum that had originally been collected for a village war memorial. Perhaps one of the ways they raised money was when they put on a Yorkshire Dialect play at the Deepcar National School called “Rhubarb and Custard i’Paris” in 1935. The Rural Dean dedicated the reredos at the evening service on Sunday 22 September, but the vicar and his wife had left the area for another parish in April. The Dean, Canon A. W. Douglas, said that “it was with the greatest possible pleasure that I accepted your Vicar’s kind invitation to be present tonight because it enabled me to pay my small tribute to your devotion in supplying your little House of God with beautiful furniture.”
Sally Jowitt, a volunteer with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s “Eyes On Hands On” project has kindly taken some photographs of the screen that is there today, but it does not appear to be a war memorial screen. There are two panels on the screens remembering two well-known local families, Dyson and Armitage, which were mentioned in the Church’s centenary booklet 1877-1977 [note: in the booklet one of the names was said to be Redfearn, not Dyson]. Carved by Mr. W. Boothroyd. Mrs. Armitage died in 1939.
Below are photos of the men or, failing that, their Certificate from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. If you have any photos you'd like me to add, please contact me via the "Contact Us" page.