| Synopsis: |
A World War One memorial, an angel carved in marble, situated in a school playground is the subject of this book. The angel is brought to life by the absorbing account of its unusual origin, and the thorough detail of the lives and deaths of the fifty-nine men remembered. The Crosby Angel was the brainchild of the headmaster of Crosby School from 1908 to 1933, George Taylor. Intimate detail of his life, his love and care for the community were found in an autobiography written by his youngest daughter, and in the remarkably detailed school logbook kept by George Taylor.Nine of the dead were old boys of the school, the other fifty all had strong connections with the school via relatives or neighbours. Their short lives are brought alive through various forms of research, the most poignant coming from living relatives. Letters from the trenches from a few of the men make moving reading.The parish of Crosby, later subsumed into the Borough of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, is the place the men knew when they volunteered. This community has been both skilfully and imaginatively recalled, particularly in relation to the war years, 1914 to 1918."The Crosby Angel, A Community's War Memorial", was carefully researched over a number of years, ensuring accuracy in the details of its contents. It is well illustrated with more than two hundred photographs, accompanying the text on their relevant pages. This is a book both for those studying World War One and for those who like a good read into the past. |