War Memorials - Aldbrough

When St Paul's, Aldbrough became the parish Church in 1990, a new memorial was needed in place of the one at Stanwick.

There is more about the Stanwick Memorial on the Stanwick page of this folder, but we have put this double photo of the two memorials to show why our parish church here in Aldbrough has what some may regard as a somewhat humble memorial to the men of the village lost in the two world wars compared with those seen in many communities, however skilfully crafted.

Rather than being a large stone or brass memorial, it is a simple wooden carved plaque bearing the simple message 'Lest we forget. In memory of the fallen' and is obviously of more recent date than most such memorials. It was carved by Ian Wardle, a resident of the village who also made the Churchwardens' wands. He was a skilled woodcarver whose works are displayed elsewhere in the district.

So, one asks, what about recording the names of those who died? The names are, of course, recorded on the memorial at Stanwick as that was the parish church at the time but they are also recorded in Aldbrough on a simple printed form where their names are hand-written. It is noticeable that there are names on the Stanwick list that do not appear on the Aldbrough list. More about that in the Stanwick section. Also noteworthy is that the handwritten list, which is short compared with the losses from some communities, also gives the names of those who fought and returned. 

The names of the Fallen recorded at Albrough are:

The Great War 

John Bartrom
John Moses Beach
Ralph Fenwick
James William Stenson
William Swainston 
George Hutchinson

World War 2

John James Barker (very faded at the bottom of the Roll of Honour)