St Mary's War Memorial

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England.  

This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.  

The memorial at St Mary's Church in Bleasby was raised as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World WarA faculty dated 28 June 1920 gave permission for a memorial cross made of Cornish granite to be erected in St Mary's churchyard, Bleasby.  It was unveiled on 2 August 1920.  The names of the men from the parish who fell in the Second World War were later added.  

The memorial was cleaned and restored in 2015 (see photos below) after the local community raised the required funds 

Two additional names of men who died in the Second World War were added in the late 1940's.

In 2018 a new memorial was erected in Glebe Field, adjacent to the church. The Aircrews Memorial remembers the names of 41 airmen who died in aircraft crashes in the area of Bleasby, Nottinghamshire during WWII. There is also a plaque for the unknown airmen who also died in the area whilst serving their countries and who have not been identified.

Historic England described the memorial as follows:

MATERIAL: granite with lead cut painted lettering. 

PLAN: the memorial is located in the churchyard of the Grade II listed St Mary’s Church, just to the north-east of the lychgate. 

EXTERIOR: he memorial is in the form of a Celtic cross rising from a tapered plinth on a low square base. The head of the cross and base of the shaft are embellished with Celtic style carving.  On the plinth in lead relief is the following inscription: THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED TO THE MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF THE PARISHES OF BLEASBY AND/ HALLOUGHTON WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR

"MAKE THEM TO BE NUMBERED WITH THY SAINTS IN GLORY EVERLASTING" 

Full details of the Grade II Listing under entry 1462523 can be found on the Historic England website: click here