Kiveton Park: Cash windfall to help restore old war memorial

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded £4,300 for the World War 1 commemoration project.

The money was presented through the HLF’s First World War: then and now programme.

The project will focus on restoring the war memorial at the Old Colliery Offices and a day of commemoration on Saturday 6th September.

Cate Goodlad of Kiveton Park and Wales History Society said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore this special memorial.”

“It is the last colliery war memorial still in situ in Yorkshire and this allows us to stay true to the original sentiments of the time, in that its purpose was to preserve the memory of the men’s sacrifice for future generations.”

“The Colliery memorial is particularly important as we believe that it is one of only two remaining in its original location in England due to the re-development of former colliery sites.”

“The decorative stone tablet containing the names of 60 men who lost their lives, and who were employed at Kiveton Park Colliery, was unveiled and dedicated in June 1921.”

“At the dedication ceremony it was stated that it was not erected to remind those present of the self-sacrifice of those who had fallen, but to place on permanent record the deeds of those men. It was there to act as an inspiration to the coming generation and would remind them of the horrors of war, which they as men and women had passed through.”

The commemoration day will include an exhibition in the village hall and a re-enactment of the enlistment in the St John’s rooms where 89 men signed up on 2nd September 1914.

This will be followed by a recreation of the send-off parade through the village, just as the men did in 1914 on their way to Kiveton Park station and onwards to training camps.

Head of the HLF in Yorkshire and the Humber, Fiona Spiers, said: “The impact of the First World War was far reaching, touching and shaping every corner of the UK and beyond.”

The Heritage Lottery Fund has already invested more than £56million in projects – large and small.”

“We are enabling even more communities like those involved in Kiveton Park and Wales History Society to explore the continuing legacy of this conflict and help local young people in particular to broaden their understanding of how it has shaped our modern world.”