This was just part of the crowd that attended the unveiling and dedication of Keighley’s War Memorial on Sunday afternoon, December 7, 1924. Nobody was counting but an estimated 25,000 was probably the largest ever gathering in the town.

The Town Hall Square was reserved for ex-servicemen and relatives of the approximately 900 who had died, but thousands were standing “well down Cavendish Street, along North Street, up Spencer Street and in other surroundings public spaces”. Loud-speakers had been installed, and the town centre closed to traffic.

In a ceremony whose order of service ran to eight pages, the memorial was unveiled by Lieutenant-General Sir Charles H Harington, of Northern Command, and dedicated by the Rev S Howard-Hall, former chaplain of the local 6th Battalion of the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment. The Battalion Band and the Keighley Vocal Union added weight to the hymns. After the sounding of the Last Post and Reveille, the Mayor, Councillor Robert Calverley, accepted the memorial on behalf of the borough. Lastly, as in the words of the Keighley News, “the winter evening closes in”, relatives and friends of the fallen laid floral tributes.

Described as “this great undertaking on the part of the people Keighley”, the War Memorial took six years in its planning but was largely accomplished during the 1923 mayoralty of Newman King, whose Memorial Fund attracted generous public support.

Its bronze figures were by South Kensington sculptor Henry C Fehr and its “exceptionally hard and durable” stonework came from Eastburn Quarries. Its female figure, representing both peace and victory, stands 35 feet above ground level.

The photograph has been supplied by Mr Kevin Seaton, of Shann Lane, Keighley.