War Graves in Moorgate Cemetery

 

The headstone of Signaller L. De Fontaine of the Royal Signals

When visiting Moorgate Cemetery in Rotherham on 11th February 2023, I had two main objectives – firstly to catch up with Janet Worrall to update her on my meeting with Steve Roche and then continue with my ongoing project to photograph the regimental crests on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) headstones. 

 

A list of CWGC headstones to photograph at Moorgate Cemetery

 

The CWGC website states that there are 85 war graves at Moorgate Cemetery and the War Graves Photographic Project records 92 – which both include private memorials – and I managed to find 56 standard CWGC headstones, including the 6 with regimental badges that I hadn’t seen before. 

 

The headstone of Private S. Gracey of the Royal Irish Fusiliers

 

The first headstone that I encountered was that of Private S. Gracey of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, which is made in a medium/coarse grained sandstone that I presumed was Stancliffe Darley Dale stone from Derbyshire – a durable and evenly coloured sandstone from the Ashover Grit, which has been used by the CWGC for many headstones in the region. 

 

A worksheet used by Lidster and Brammer

 

The worksheet that records the monumental masons as Lidster and Brammer of Worksop, which also includes Private J. Spencer of the Connaught Rangers and Driver W.H. Gower of the Australian Field Artillery, has a handwritten note to indicate that Woodkirk Blue stone is the material to be used for the headstones on the list. 

 

The headstone of Private P. Spencer of the Connaught Rangers

When I next found the headstone of Private Spencer, who died on the 17th of March 1920, I immediately noticed that it is is made of Botticino marble from Brescia in Italy, which has been used as a replacement for the original headstone, when the inscriptions become illegible. 

 

The headstone of Driver W.H. Gower of the Australian Field Artillery

 

Driver Gower, who died on 4th of November 1918, also has a headstone made of Botticino marble which, like those of Private Spencer, has had its inscriptions and regimental crest automatically cut by a CNC milling machine. 

 

The headstone of Private G.E. Suter of the Royal West Kent Regiment

Private G.E Suter of the Royal West Kent Regiment is commemorated with yet another Botticino marble headstone, which suggests that the stone used to make several of the original headstones to commemorate the victims of WWI wasn’t very durable. Of the 56 headstones that I photographed, 20 are made out of Botticino marble and only one of these is a victim of WWII. 

 

The headstone of Private F. Revill

 

Next on my list of headstones to photograph was Private F. Revill of the Suffolk Regiment and, although there is no worksheet for it, the paperwork on the CWGC website does refer to Woodkirk Blue stone and it therefore provides another good reference point from which to identify further examples of this stone. 

 

The regimental crest of the Suffolk Regiment

Woodkirk stone, which has blue/grey and light brown colour variation, was extracted from several quarries in the Thornhill Rock to the south of Morley in West Yorkshire. Marketed as Woodkirk Blue and Woodkirk Brown, it was widely used for building in West Yorkshire and is seen in many prestigious buildings, including Morley Town Hall. 

 

Quarries in the Thornhill Rock at Morley

Although not on my list to photograph, the headstones of Serjeant T.W. Grigg of the Northumberland Fusiliers and Private W. Crabtree of the York and Lancaster Regiment are further examples of Woodkirk Blue stone, which appear to have slightly different colours and textures. 

 

The headstones of Serjeant T.W. Grigg and Private W. Crabtree

Continuing with my walk around the cemetery, I encountered several more sandstone headstones: Private J. Green of the Durham Light Infantry, Private W. Creasy and Private L. Cowell of the York and Lancaster Regiment and Serjeant F.C. Jennison of the Royal Army Service Corps. These are all listed on the same worksheet, but the stone to be used has not been included. 

 

Various sandstone headstones

 

Other sandstone headstones commemorate Sapper T.C. Norris of the Royal Engineers, Driver P. Bell of the Royal Field Artillery and Private R. Hanton of the York and Lancaster Regiment, with the latter made by W. Knowles and Son of Pitsmoor in Sheffield. 

 

The headstones of T.C.Norris, P. Bell and R.Hanton

 

Looking at all of these on my photographs, there are similarities between them but also some variation in colour and texture; however, although the choice of Woodkirk Blue stone seems to be the material favoured at Moorgate Cemetery, at some point in the future I need to take a much closer look at these. 

 

The headstone of Private H. Roberts

 

The last headstone on my list to photograph was that of Private H. Roberts of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, who died on 6th July 1947. It is one of twenty Portland stone headstones in the cemetery, all of which - except for Private W. Dudley of the West Yorkshire Regiment - commemorate victims of WWII.

 

The regimental crest of the Royal Norfolk Regiment