Ossett War Memorial (OWM)

The Ossett War Memorial was raised at Ossett on 11th November 1928 as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by men from the town who lost their lives in the First World War. The life-sized bronze figure was sculpted by Mr R Lindsay Clark (who died before the unveiling) and cast by Walkers of Idle. The memorial was designed by the borough surveyor Mr H Holmes and local architect Mr Charles Kendall. Rather fittingly Mr. Kendall served at the rank of Lieutenant in The Great War and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
The memorial originally stood on a traffic island near the Town Hall and was unveiled in front of a large crowd on Armistice Sunday, 11 November 1928, by the Rt Hon the Lord Viscount Lascelles.
In 1954 the Memorial was moved to land adjacent to Kingsway and granted Grade II listed status in 1988. In 2001 the Memorial was moved to a central position in the Market Place facing the Grade II listed Town Hall. The War Memorial is also Grade II Listed.
On 11th November 2018 the engraved names of The Ossett Fallen, 315 Ossett men who died in The Great War 1914-1919 and 87 Ossett men and women who died in The World War 1939-1945, were unveiled at the War Memorial. The names of these Ossett men and women are engraved on granite memorial stones which were laid around the base of the War Memorial in readiness for Armistice Day 2018. The memorial stones were unveiled by children from the 11 Ossett schools moments before the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 2018.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries + Alan Howe
• Photos: Andrea (1), Betty Longbottom (2)