Wincle’s WW1 War Memorial

If you enter St Michael’s Church in Wincle and turn right towards the altar you will see a small stone memorial mounted on the wall on the left just before the pulpit. On it, at the top, are written the words ”Their name liveth for evermore” followed by a list of 25 names; a line has been drawn under the fourth name. At the bottom it reads ”THIS TABLET COMMEMORATES THE SERVICES OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO SERVED DURING THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918”. The names above the line are those who died; those below those who survived the war. The memorial was unveiled and dedicated on 8 September 1921.

In early 2013 Church Warden Jonathan Marsh started a project to find out more about these men so they could be properly commemorated at the centenary of the outbreak of the war. He was later joined in the research by Alan Weeks of Swythamley Historical Society (www.facebook.com/SwythamleyHistoricalSociety) and many other locals and descendants of locals contributed information and photographs to the project. Two well attended exhibitions were staged in the locality in October and November 2014 with the results of their research and other WW1 memorabilia; these were held together with the WW1 team from neighbouring Rushton Church. Now, by adding these pages to the Wincle Church website, we are able to perpetuate the memories of these servicemen to a wider audience.

Whilst most of the men on the memorial have a strong connection with this parish it soon became apparent during the course of the research that some only seem to have had rather fleeting links with Wincle. We have not yet found out how it was decided whose names should appear. No doubt the church was involved and we came across a reference to ’Wincle Soldiers’ Fund’ Committee which must have had something to do with it too. From other researchers we gather that there was no consistent process for all memorials but it was very much up to the locals to decide; as a result some men appear on more than one memorial (as many as six has been recorded) whilst others who fought do not appear on any – sometimes through their own or family’s choice or sometimes simply because there was no-one to put their name forward; we have found a few cases like this in Wincle.

Click on the links to find out what we
​uncovered; about the men on the Wincle Memorial, about the Tribunals affecting Wincle farm labourers and about what the locals were doing to support the war effort. We have also listed a few of the men who do not appear currently on the memorial (Missing Men?) but are as least as well qualified to appear as some who do. Should they be on it too? Any comments, questions or additional information would be welcome.
Please fill them in the box below.

By the summer of 1919 most of the survivors
​ of the war were back in Wincle. A committee was set up called : The committee of the Wincle Soldiers Fund to welcome them home and express the village's gratitude to those who had fought for king and country. The chairman was John Grantham of The Cottage (since replaced by Mellor Knowl House)
On 20 August 1919 those who returned were invited to a "do"in a large marquee on Bagstones Field in Wincle (so no doubt Lady Annie Brocklehurst was involved too). John Grantham sent out the invites
All the men were presented with a "souvenir", a silver, half hunter pocket watch inscribed with the words : "From Wincle Parish in commemoration of the Great War"

Being an agricultural community many of the local young men were not expected to join up, certainly early on in the war. And indeed most of those on our memorial did not join early on. But by 1916 such was the need for manpower that conscription was introduced and even farmworkers were called up unless specifically exempted. Tribunals were held to decide who could stay, and who would go. Skilled workers such as ploughmen and carters could stay in their jobs but others, farm labourers and cowmen etc. would usually be called up. We came across a number of these cases concerning Wincle agricultural workers. 

 

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