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    © Imperial War Museums 2026

    Memorial

    Lieutenant W B Shaw and St Giles Parishioners (Lychgate)

    Lychgate commemorating Lieutenant W B Shaw and Great Longstone parishioners.

    Source: J Kingsland (WMO 217312)

    1/8

    Current Location

    On the east side of the lane, at the entrance to the new graveyard., St Giles New Graveyard, Church Lane, Great Longstone, Derbyshire Dales, Derbyshire, DE45 1TB, England

    OS Grid Reference

    SK 20068 71880

    Denomination

    Church of England

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    Names listed on this memorial

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    © WMR-14487

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    Type of Memorial
    Gate
    WMR Reference Number
    14487
    Description
    A lychgate, with a tiled roof surmounted by a wooden cross, wooden name boards and a crucifix. The lychgate is constructed of heavy oak timbers and has open-framed gates at the centre. On the west elevation, oak boards attached to the corner struts bear an inscription re Lieutenant W B Shaw. (The right-hand board includes a carved depiction of the Royal Sussex Regiment's badge). The inner-face of the east roof-beam bears the dedicatory inscription re St Giles' parishioners. Attached to the inner face of the panelled north side is a carved wooden crucifix, the sides of which bear a Biblical text, and the front face of which is inscribed with the names of 7 parishioners. Flanking the crucifix are two supplementary oak boards, inscribed with 9 further names. All the inscriptions are incised and gilded, in mixed-case upright Roman lettering. [N.B.: 1) Captain H B Dixon (who is included on this memorial) is also commemorated on the lychgate on the opposite side of the lane (details of which are in our separate record WMR 14490). 2) Two of the casualties included on this memorial (James Renwick TIMM and Fred Cowen SLACK) are also commemorated on Little Longstone Congregational Church's memorial, details of which are in our record WMR 14538)].
    Inscription
    [Lane-facing board on left strut]: To the dear and honoured memory of/ WILLIAM BERNARD SHAW/ Lieutenant Royal Sussex Regt. [Lane-facing board on right strut]: Fell at Vimy Ridge/ April 12th., 1917 [Inner roof-beam]: AND OF ALL WHO HAVE LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR FRIENDS [Left side of crucifix]: O LAMB OF GOD THAT TAKEST AWAY [Right side of crucifix] THE SINS OF THE WORLD, GRANT US THY PEACE [Front face of crucifix]: (7 names) [Adjacent left board]: (5 names) [Adjacent right board]: (4 names)
    War
    First World War (1914-1918)
    Number Commemorated
    16
    Died
    16
    Information shown
    Forename, surname, date of death, age.
    Order of names
    Deaths up to 1917 are listed chronologically on crucifix' front face; later deaths are on the boards, in no discernible order.
    Maker(s)
    • W J Eyre of Longstone, Builder

    Sponsor Type
    private
    Sponsored By
    Funded by Mr. and Mrs. Shaw of Brighton (parents of Lieutenant William Bernard Shaw).
    Additional Cost/Sponsorship Information
    The principal sponsors were Mr and Mrs Shaw.
    Maintenance History
    17 December 2016: The memorial was surveyed by Buxton Local History Society, who commented that: 'Considering that these incised and painted wooden plaques are outside, although undercover of a roof, they are in very good condition. Clean screws indicate that they may be regularly removed for maintenance or repainting'.// 19 February 2014: It was observed that some of the gilding had faded.// 17 April 1951: The Peak District National Park (in which this memorial stands) was designated.// c1920: The two supplementary boards were added to the lychgate (bearing the names of 9 further parishioners who had died since it was erected). // March 1918: The memorial was dedicated, at which time it listed just the 7 casualties who died up to the end of 1917.

    Ceremonies

    Dedicated

    20 March 1918

    Reverend C G Lynn Fryer performed the dedication.

    Components

    Gates

    Height: 3280mm

    Width: 3570mm

    Depth: 1950mm


    Made from: Ceramic, Wood - Oak


    Condition: Good


    Crucifix

    Height: 950mm

    Width: 560mm

    Depth: 190mm


    Made from: Wood - Oak


    Condition: Good


    Board

    Height: 230mm

    Width: 120mm

    Depth: 15mm


    Made from: Wood - Oak


    Condition: Good


    • Aspects of Dales Life through Peace and War by Keith Taylor 254-6 Published:Country Books 2007 Bakewell Description and photograph.
    • Derbyshire Times - Saturday 23 March 1918 (page 6) reported: 'THE FALLEN BRAVE. LYCH GATES DEDICATED AT LONGSTONE. Two handsome lych gates, one at the entrance to the old portion of the Great Longstone Parish Churchyard and the other at the entrance to the new burying ground, immediately opposite, on the other side of the roadway leading to Hassop, were dedicated to the memory of the local men who have fallen in action by the Rev. C. G. Lynn-Fryer, the vicar, on Wednesday, in the presence of a good number of villagers. Both gates, which have been erected by Mr. W. J. Eyre, of Longstone, are of English oak, locally grown, with appropriate carvings by an Oxford firm, and are roofed by old hand-made Staffs. red tiles. The first gate is "In affectionate remembrance of Hubert Bradshaw Dixon, captain, Sherwood Foresters, who fell at Neuve Chapelle, March, 12, 1915,' and is the gift of Mr. Roger Pitt- Dixon, of Little Longstone, and Mrs. Shaw (formerly of Longstone, and now of Brighton), his brother and sister. The second gate, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, of Brighton, is "To the dear and honoured memory of William Bernard Shaw" (their son), lieutenant in the Royal Sussex Regiment, who fell at Vimy Ridge, April 12, 1917, and "all who had laid down their lives for their friends." The names inscribed on a separate panel are: Hubert Bradshaw Dixon, March 12, 1915, aged 36; Wm. Bernard Shaw, February 12, 1217, aged 22; Stanley Ferns Jeffcoat., April 29, 1917, aged 32; George Blackwell., June 26, 1917, aged 39; Jas. Renwick Timms, August 16, 1917, aged 24; George Wm. Furniss, September 17, 1917, aged 23; Fred Morton, October 4, 1917, aged 32. After assembling in church, where a suitable hymn was sung, a procession was formed, headed by the surpliced boys' choir, followed by the Vicar, the churchwardens, Messrs. R. Pitt-Dixon and J. T. Trickett (Rowland), and the congregation, which included Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, Mr. G. Hervey Wood of the Manor House, Little Longstone, Mrs. Furniss, Mr. A. W. J. Eyre, and others. The hymn "We love the place, O God" was sung, and in a brief address the Vicar said that the parishioners were very grateful and indebted to those who had given the lych gate, which would be an everlasting memorial to the gallant men who had fallen in battle, not only to Capt. Dixon and Lieut. Shaw, but other soldiers from the village, and he hoped that all who passed through these beautiful shrines would remember and pay a tribute to the memory of the fallen brave'. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000541/19180323/225/0006
    • Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty Register: Lieutenant WILLIAM BERNARD SHAW, "B" Company, 9th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment. Died 12 April 1917, aged 23. Commemorated on Bay 6. at ARRAS MEMORIAL, France. ('Additional Info: Son of William Longsdon Shaw and Martha Fletcher Shaw, of "Longstone", Bristol Gardens Brighton'). https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1652682/william-bernard-shaw/
    • https://www.flickr.com/photos/kingsley_allison/50036567362/in/pool-churchyards/
    • https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/217312/