Commemoration is defined as something that is done to remember officially and give respect to a great person or event.
Remembrance is defined as the act of remembering and showing respect for someone who has died or for a past event.
What this Website Contains
This website follows the progress of my PhD study of concentrates upon the tangible evidence of commemoration of war and conflict in Barnsley, and activities of commemoration and remembrance which have taken place in Barnsley, regarding the Boer War, the First and Second World Wars and subsequent conflicts. The Index page introduces the variety of information recorded on this site.
The Links page highlights examples of existing research from around Barnsley that are available online. Many links lead to the Barnsley & District War Memorials (B&DWM) site, originally the site for the Barnsley War Memorials Project which was wound up in late 2019 (see Acknowlegments at the foot of this page).
Barnsley is defined as the modern borough, although consideration is given to places that once fell within its boundaries. Villages and Townships that lie just over the boundary of the current borough have been listed where their memorials have been shown to include the names of men and women who were born in the modern borough, or who lived in the borough at the time of their deaths.
Many men commemorated in Barnsley, or who lived in Barnsley immediately prior to the First World War have been found commemorated on war memorials in other towns and cities across Britain. This is sometimes the reason why a man known to be connected to Barnsley is not remembered on a Barnsley borough war memorial, he was commemorated in the place to which his family moved after the war, or where his family still lived if he had been a sole migrant. Over 700 Barnsley connected men who fell in the First World War have not been found commemorated on any Barnsley borough war memorial or roll of honour recorded thus far.
When a man or woman's individual story is published on this site memorials where he or she is mentioned have been included, no matter what their location, and links provided where online research has been discovered.
First World War
The Centenary of the First World War, 2014 to 2019, has been a catalyst for the renewal of commemoration and the prompt for numerous acts of remembrance. Communities have commemorated the contributions of their men and women in the First World War with services, exhibitions, websites and books.
The First World War had a huge impact upon Barnsley, due in part to the raising of two 'Pals Battalions' from the area. For more information on this topic Jon Cooksey's book Barnsley Pals is highly recommended by the authors of this site. See the Index page for a list of other books concerning commemoration and remembrance in Barnsley.
The B&DWM site uses both WW1 and FWW as abbreviation for the First World War. It depends on who originally wrote the post.
Second World War
The Second World War involved more of the civilian population as conscription and rationing were in place from much earlier, children were evacuated from large centres of population which were deemed to be at risk from air attacks which did indeed reach further inland and occurred more frequently than in the earlier conflict. It is expected that research into Barnsley's contribution to the Second World War will develop over the next few years.
Visual reminders of the legacy of both wars can be seen around the town and surrounding townships and villages in the form of archaeologicial sites, commemorative monuments, features in churches and churchyards, and more recently commorative benches installed during the Centenary period.
The B&DWM site uses WW2 and SWW abbreviation for the Second World War. It depends on who originally wrote the post.
Previous and Subsequent Conflicts
The Boer War has been commemorated by several memorials and gravestone inscriptions in Barnsley. The names of men who fell in conflicts following the Second World War have been remembered by the addition of their names to existing memorials, or by new memorials, benches and plaques.
A surprisingly large number of commemorative items around Barnsley can be classified as War Memorials. The Imperial War Musuem has a national site, the War Memorials Register, set up to record and catalogue these. It is not complete and volunteers are needed to send in more photos and add known memorials to the pages. War Memorials Register
Definition of a war memorial
"War memorials can be any tangible object which has been erected or dedicated to commemorate war, conflict, victory or peace; or casualties who served in, were affected by or killed as a result of war, conflict or peacekeeping; or those who died as a result of accident or disease whilst engaged in military service." UK War Memorials
Acknowledgments
Barnsley Archives contains a great deal of information about commemoration in the borough, including newspapers, photographs, personal documents and medals, and are always been friendly and helpful. Barnsley Archives and Local Studies
The creator of this site thanks the Barnsley War Memorials Project for their hard work during the Centenary of the First World War 2014 to 2019. The references commencing BWMP# at the foot of many of the memorial pages on this site indicate the coding used by the group during their research.
Contact: Linda at barnsleyhistorian@gmail.com