No less than the citizens of its larger neighbour, the inhabitants of the village of Ferrybridge decided to honour those drawn from the community and slain in the Great War. To this end, a war memorial committee was formed with the aim of raising money to enable a suitable monument to be designed and erected.

The committee was under the chairmanship of Mr. E.L. Poulson, proprietor of the West Riding Pottery, Ferrybridge (1) with Mr. E. Broadley as Vice Chairman. The other members of the committee were Mesdames E. Bell, G.W. Bell, O. Briggs, T. Booth, R. Firth and Misses K. Boden and E. Roberts. The committeemen were Messrs. O. Briggs, E. Skinner, H. Bloor, F. Hodgson, B. Mollett, (?) Foster, and Captain G.W. Bell, the latter being the Secretary and Treasurer. (2)

A newspaper report in November 1920 revealed an ongoing series of fund raising events with the object of attaining the sum of £300 for a permanent memorial to the

"dear lads who gave their all in the great struggle for freedom."

The most recent effort was a concert in the crowded village schoolroom on the previous Monday evening at which various artists gave their services voluntarily. At the time of the report about half the required sum had been raised via promissory or actual donations. (3)

The sum of £250 was eventually obtained by a combination of individual subscriptions and public events such as galas, concerts, whist drives etc., but there was still an outstanding sum of £100 at the time of the inauguration of the Memorial on Sunday 9th October 1921.

Designed and erected by E. Paver & Co., of Selby, the monument was an obelisk of Aberdeen granite some 6 feet in length standing on a rectangular base, making an overall height of 13’ 6". On the face of the obelisk was carved a wreath and a sword and on the base in letters of lead were the words

"Lest We Forget"

above which in raised granite figures was the date "1914 – 1918". The die of the obelisk provided the space containing the names of the 38 servicemen who had forfeited their lives in the war.

In beautiful weather a large concourse assembled at the site near the foot of the Aire bridge, close to the junction of the new road to Castleford, to witness the unveiling and dedication of the Village Monument o Sunday 9th October 1921.

A procession formed at the Ferrybridge Council Schools about half a mile south west of the site, marched to the Monument headed by Knottingley Silver Prize Band led by bandmaster Samuel Marshall and followed by civic and military dignitaries, a contingent of 80 ex-servicemen under Sergeant Hines (K.O.Y.L.I.) and representatives of local social groups and organisations.

Upon arrival at the Memorial, the main platform was occupied by a group consisting of Colonel and Mrs Moxon, Colonel and Mrs Beadon and Miss Crossland, the Mayor of Pontefract, Alderman T.J. Sides, JP., CC., Captain G.W. Bell, Mr. E.L. Poulson, Rev. Canon Atkinson (Rural Dean) Rev. A.H. Lees (Vicar of Ferry Fryston) Rev. W. Salisbury (Wesleyan Minister Knottingley) Captain Forward (Knottingley Salvation Army) Mr. T. Smith (Prospective Labour Party Candidate) and Mr. E. Jarvis and Mr. W. Lingard (Parish Councillors) and Mr. W. Swaine (K.U.D.C. Clerk)

On a second platform assembled a choir of adults and schoolchildren under their conductor Mr. James Wright, while in a reserved enclosure sat the relatives of the fallen and a group of ex-servicemen. Next to them seats had been reserved for the bandsmen, members of the St. Johns Ambulance Brigade, Boy Scouts and others from the procession. Grouped around the enclosure stood members of the general public.

The ceremony closely followed that conducted at Knottingley a fortnight earlier and commenced with a short prayer by the Vicar which was followed by the hymn ‘O God Our Help in Ages Past’. The Rev W Salisbury then delivered a further prayer and spoke the words of the 23rd Psalm. Two further prayers were followed by the public recitation of the ‘Lords Prayer’. Captain Forward then read the Lesson, Revelations vii. 9-17, which was followed by the official Silence after which the hymn ‘On Resurrection Morning’ concluded the service.

The unveiling by Colonel Moxon commenced with the words

"To the glory of God and in proud and grateful memory of the Men of Ferrybridge who gave their lives for King and Country in a Righteous Cause, I unveil this monument in their honour. May it be kept in hallowed remembrance."

The dedication of the memorial by Canon Atkinson was concluded by buglers Simpson and Dailey of Pontefract Garrison sounding the Last Post and Reveille followed by the singing of the hymn ‘Peace, Peace, Peace’.

On behalf of the Memorial Committee, Captain Bell then formally handed over the Memorial to the keeping of the Parish Council forever and this was received by the Chairman of the Council, Mr. E.L. Poulson with thanks to the Committee and all concerned.

Next followed an address by Col Moxon which in context and sentiment echoed that delivered at Knottingley previously. Following the Address, a benediction was delivered by Canon Atkinson and the formalities concluded with the mass singing of the National Anthem.

Thereafter, more than fifty tokens of remembrance were laid at the foot of the Memorial by relatives of the war dead. Such was the degree of interest and emotional duress engendered by the occasion that many members of the public were still present at the site at eventide. (4)

The removal of Ferrybridge Church to a more centralised and accessible site within the village in 1952-53, prompted the possibility of relocating the war memorial within the church grounds, a consideration made the more desirable by the increased volume of traffic noise and fumes close to the original site of the Monument engendered by the increasingly busy A1 road. Cr R. Wilson raised the subject in the appropriate K.U.D.C. Committee meeting (Ferrybridge forming a ward of the Knottingley council by this time) which instructed the Surveyor to enquire into the matter and report back (5)

After exhaustive and somewhat protracted research, the Surveyor reported in late September 1956 that as the War Memorial was erected by means of public subscription, the council had no jurisdiction in the matter and consequently nothing further could be done. (6)

As a consequence of the K.U.D.C. policy of wholesale demolition of property in Knottingley and Ferrybridge from the middle of the following decade a decision was taken to re-site the Memorial. A new site on the north side of the junction of Fishergate and the High Street, close to the newly constructed Community Hall was approved by the Council in Autumn 1967. (7) The work was put out to tender and a quotation of £97-17-0 submitted by H. & H. Fairbairn of Knottingley was accepted later that year. (8) the reconstruction of the Memorial took place the following year.

Ferrybridge branch of the Royal British Legion endorsed the re-siting and fully appreciated the efforts of the local council to maintain the site. In November 1968 Mr. E.M. Austin wrote an appreciative letter to the K.U.D.C. thanking them for all the care and attention given to the War Memorial site throughout the year (10) In spring 1970 the council acceeded to a written request from Ferrybridge Branch British Legion that the surrounding flower beds be planted with blooms in the legions colours of blue and gold to commemorate the golden jubilee of the organisation. (11)

Terry Spencer

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NOTES:

1. Pontefract Advertiser 15-10-1921 p6
2. P&C Express 19-11-1920
3. Loc cit 14-10-1921 p6 & Pontefract Advertiser 15-10-1921 p1
4. K.U.D.C. Minute Book 1956-57 Housing Highways Lighting and Allotments Committee Meeting 25-6-1956 p33, p53 & p195
5. Loc cit 24-9-1956 p81
6. P&C Express 5-10-1967 p4
7. Loc cit 2-11-1967 p24
8. Although closed from November 1968, it was not until 1970 that work commenced on the demolition of Christ Church c.f. loc cit 6-3-1969 p19, 13-6-1969 p12
9. K.U.D.C. Minute Book 1968-69 Public Works Committee Meeting 20-11-1968 p216
10. Loc cit 1970 –71 Public works Committee Meeting 21-4-1970 p336
11. K.U.D.C. Minute Book 1970-71 p336 Meeting of Public works Committee 21-4-1970

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NAMES OF THE FALLEN AS INSCRIBED ON THE MEMORIAL