Lamps of Sacrifice: Bardon Hill and Ellistown

Church of St Peter

Bardon Road, Bardon Hill

Church designed by Everard & Pick, 1898-99 (grade II listed)

Memorial cross designed by George Nott, 1920 (grade II listed)

In the churchyard, a Portland stone 'wheel cross' stands on a plinth that bears three inscribed slate plaques. In turn the plinth is mounted on a base of Bardon granite.

The memorial was unveiled on 4 September 1920 by Mr BN Everard (the proprietor of Bardon Hill Quarry) and dedicated by the Rev Canon Broughton. It was paid for by public subscription. The memorial commemorates 31 local men who fell in the First World War. Four further names were added following the Second World War.

Also in the churchyard, the graves of Pte JH Shaw and Pte G Slatter are marked by IWGC headstones.

Alex James Turner

Among the names on the memorial is Alex James Turner, son of the gardener for the eminent social researcher Charles Booth. The Coalville Times reported that Alex (who lived on Meadow Lane in Coalville) was a wireless telegraphist on board HMS Paxton when the ship came under attack on 20 May 1917. He died aged 19. He had just completed his term as a student teacher at Bridge Road School in Coalville.

Church of St Christopher

St Christopher's Road, Ellistown

Church designed by Goddard Paget & Goddard, 1895-96 (not listed)

Mounted on the eastern wall of the narthex is a memorial, unveiled on 10 December 1919, that commemorates the casualties of the First World War. The memorial was made by Joseph Herbert Morcom. Names are inscribed in gold on a Swithland slate tablet, surrounded by an ornate Chellaston alabaster frame. Following the Second World War another slate tablet was installed underneath.

Centenary Memorial

Beveridge Lane, Ellistown

Memorial sculpture designed by Deborah Frith, 2014 (not listed)

A new memorial was unveiled on 30 November 2014. Standing in a landscaped area, the sculpture is carved from Rotherham Red stone and includes poppies and barbed wire. The names of the fallen from the First and Second World Wars are inscribed in gold on the black tablet beneath; the inscription reads "For your tomorrow, we gave our today".

The height of the memorial (7') was chosen because this was the average depth of a First World War trench.

Image credits (top to bottom): Ashley Howes; Michael Faulkner; James White.