CAN any of our readers throw any light on the history of an Ardsley monument?

Memories heard from Frank Brown who told us he had recently walked along a footpath which runs behind the brickworks on Wombwell Lane leading to a trail between Wombwell and Stairfoot.

A short distance along the path is a monument with an inscription which reads: "Uncle Bill." It is dated 4.12.87 and the top of the monument there is a reference to Ardsley Oaks Junior School.

There is also a poem engraved on the monument headed Oaks Plantation. It reads: My Uncle Bill used to think he was an oak. He would stand very still, and I thought it was a joke.

"I took him for a stroll. Then I lost him in the wood. Somewhere by the rabbit hole, and I don't know where he stood.

"Uncle Bill is here somewhere, I can hear his branches in the air."

If anyone can throw any light on the story behind the monument and the poem, please contact Kath Parkin, Barnsley Chronicle Editorial Department, 47 Church Street, Barnsley S70 2AS.