Three Ways of Remembering World War 1: the Sledmere Memorials, Yorkshire, England

Summary

As the First World War commemorations draw to a close, the memorials at Sledmere, East Yorkshire, indicate the attitudes to the war held by one individual, Sir Mark Sykes, the 6th baronet. Widely known as an author of the Sykes-Picot agreement which carved up the Middle East between France and Britain following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, thereby creating countries such as Iraq and Syria, he managed and invested in his substantial estate and house on the Yorkshire Wolds. He remembered the war through three items, each exceptional in their scale, quality, and messages they give. The re-used 19th-century Eleanor Cross and new memorial inspired by Trajan’s column both stand along the main road through the village, whilst an illuminated manuscript book is displayed in the parish church. Chivalry, paternalism, xenophobia, and romanticism are all evoked by these artefacts in the context of loss, sacrifice and memory

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Monuments, Commemoration, and Heritage: New Perspectives on the Archaeology of Cemeteries and Commemoration   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1109