Reconnecting the Pieces

Reconnecting the Pieces

Discovering a lost Mansfield church and its war dead

In 2025 we were contacted by Tracy Dodds, who was doing research for the Family History Society. She was locating and photographing memorials, especially those commemorating local people who had lost their lives to war.

Visitors to the museum have probably seen the two memorial plaques near the entrance. These are from the old Beale’s department store, and honour staff of the Mansfield and Sutton Co-operative Society. However, Tracy also wanted to see any similar monuments which are currently in storage, and we were happy to oblige. One memorial in particular caught her eye.

IN PROUD

AND

AFFECTIONATE MEMORY

OF THE MEN

CONNECTED WITH

THIS CHURCH

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

IN THE GREAT WAR

1914-1919

S. W. COLLINS                  R. PENSON

J. GIBSON                         W. C. PLUMBE (Deacon)

E. MILLBAND                   E. SLACK

H. SLACK

H. BUTLER

This object had become separated from any information about where it came from, or how it ended up in the museum. It noted that it was installed to remember the members “of this church”, but we weren’t even sure which church it referred to. Tracy decided to take on this mystery! As she explains:

“Whilst photographing memorials in Mansfield Museum, I was shown a lovely brass memorial of unknown provenance, so I decided to [find out about the plaque and the men named]. At the very least I could try and find out which Chapel it had belonged to. I surmised it had come from a non-conformist Chapel rather than a Church as one of the names said (Deacon) after it.

Of course, when it was unveiled everyone would have known which church this referred to; it was actually within the relevant building. However, over time the memorial was taken down, and although it eventually found its way to the museum, no provenance came with it.”

Tracy began to trace the men named on the plaque, via the Commonwealth War Graves website and the Nottingham Roll of Honour. It was while she was looking into old newspaper articles that she had her big breakthrough:

“The icing on the cake was an article in The Mansfield Reporter from January 9th, 1920 entitled "The Rev H L Marsh and the Leeming Street Promenaders, Address at a Congregational Church". The article states that in the Mansfield Congregational Church, the Mayor (Councillor Frank Hardy) unveiled a tablet inscribed with the names of the men connected with the Church who fell in the war.

“The congregation stood whilst the Mayor reverently withdrew the Union Jack which had veiled the memorial tablet, revealing thereon the following inscription: In proud and affectionate memory of the men connected with this church who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914-1919. SW Collins, J Gibson, E Millband, R Penson, WC Plumbe, E Slack, H Slack.”

Although there are a few differences between the inscription as reported in the newspaper and that which is on our plaque, it seems certain that this is the same memorial.

The Congregational Church was on the corner of West Gate and Wood Street and was a very impressive structure! Designed by famous Mansfield architect Watson Fothergill, it was opened in 1878. In the 1970s, The Congregational Church in England and Wales, and The Presbyterian Church of England joined to form a single denomination known as The United Reformed Church, and the building on West Gate was known by this name for the last decade of its use. The church was demolished in 1982.

A list of the church’s ministers was printed in the programme for the final service held there. It confirms that from 1916 to 1921 it was Rev. A. Briggs, who is noted in the newspaper article as the minister officiating at the memorial’s unveiling. This seems to confirm that the memorial was originally situated in the Congregational Church on West Gate and was installed there on Sunday 4th January 1920.

It also seems reasonable to assume that the memorial came to the museum in the early 1980s, following the demolition of the church. The junction of West Gate and Wood Street is now under the A60 Chesterfield Road South. This section of the road was built around 1986, so the demolition of the church may have been precipitated by the plans for the road.

Tracy has also unearthed some details about the men honoured on the plaque. “The men named are:

Butler H

Harry Butler (Private PO/527(S) Royal Marine Light Infantry Portsmouth Bn. R.N. Div) died 6 May 1915 aged 22. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Butler, of 101, Bould St., Mansfield, Notts. Killed in action he was buried at the Beach Cemetery, ANZAC, Turkey.

Collins S W

Samuel William Collins (Second Lieutenant Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) 2nd/7th Bn.) died 21 March 1918 aged 28. Son of Thomas Hunt Collins and Sarah Wilson Collins; husband of Mary Collins, of Alphen House, Hucknall, Notts. He was commemorated on the Arras memorial, France.

Gibson J

J W Gibson (Second Lieutenant Tank Corps 8th Bn.) died 9 August 1918 aged 19. Son of James and C. S. Gibson, of "Beverley," Watson Avenue, Mansfield. He was buried at Heath Cemetery, Harbonnieres, France.

E Millband

Ernest Millband (Sergeant 2416 Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) "A" Coy. 1st/8th Bn.) died 14 October 1915 aged 26. Son of Arthur and Theresa Millband; husband of Hilda Challis (formerly Millband), of 60, Booth Crescent, Bull Farm, Mansfield, Notts. He was commemorated on the Loos Memorial, France.

R Penson

Reginald Penson (Private 2391 London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers 2nd Bn.) died 15 May 1915 aged 28. Son of Frederick and Mary Penson, of 8, Burns St., Mansfield, Notts. Killed in action he was buried at Ferme Buterne Military Cemetery in Houplines, France.

W C Plumbe

William Collingwood Plumbe (Private 39862 Gloucestershire Regiment, formerly (34233) 9th Bn. Yorkshire Regiment) died 13 November 1918 and was buried in Mansfield Cemetery.

Slack E

Edgar Slack (Lance Corporal 205742 Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) "C" Coy. 1st/8th Bn.) died 17 February 1917 aged 22. Son of Thomas and Hannah Slack, of 34, Rosemary St., Mansfield, Notts. Born at Sutton-in-Ashfield. He was buried at Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery, Saulty, France.

Slack H

Harold Slack (Private 276135 Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers) 1st/1st) died 2 January 1918 aged 27. Son of Edward and Agnes Slack, of 44, Chaucer St., Mansfield, Notts. He was buried in Kantara War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt.”

We are really grateful to Tracy for her work on this object. Thanks to her research we are now able to give the memorial back its provenance and history. We can also record the lives and loss of these men who worshipped at Mansfield’s Congregational Church and were mourned by the members of the congregation when they failed to return from the First World War.

Find Out More

A blog post about the Congregational Church appears on the ‘Our Mansfield and Area’ website. This includes a copy of the order of service with the list of church ministers mentioned above, as well as photographs and memories of the church. Click here to read it

There’s a lot of information about the inimitable Watson Fothergill online, for instance via his Wikipedia entry, or the blog of Historic England (the successor to English Heritage).

History talks and walking tours of the remaining buildings by the architect in Nottingham and Mansfield are also offered by Lucy Brouwer of Watson Fothergill Walk.

Tracy Dodds, Family History Society, and Anja Thompson-Rohde, Collections and Interpretation Officer, Mansfield Museum

Uploaded 24 March 2026