A HALL in North Yorkshire could be transformed into a memorial to the fallen of the First World War.

The hall, in Wighill Lane, Healaugh, near Tadcaster, was transformed from a small field barn in the early 1920s as a memorial to Stamp Brooksbank and Hugh Godfrey Brooksbank, sons of local landowner Lord Brooksbank who were killed in the conflict.

In the early 1980s, the memorial - which is not a listed building - was converted into a house, and extended with red brick, but to mark the centenary of the First World War, plans have been submitted to Selby District Council to convert the building back to its former use.

A report, submitted with the plans, states Captain Stamp Brooksbank was enlisted in September 1914 as a second lieutenant, and became captain of the 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, and lost his life at the Battle of Loos on September 25, 1915.

Lieutenant Hugh Godfrey Brooksbank joined the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment as a second lieutenant in February 1913, and was stationed in Belgium in October 1914.

He was severely wounded at the Battle of Ypres on November 1, 1914, and died in surgery at Park Lane Hospital, London, on December 16. He is buried in the village’s Church of St John the Baptist.

Selby District Councillor Richard Musgrave is the local representative for the village, and said he was keen to see the plans go ahead.

Coun Musgrave said: “I was very interested to see the planning application to convert this building back to its former use as a Memorial Hall.

“Having read about the history of the building, it will be a fitting tribute to these two gentlemen who lost their lives in the First World War, as well as providing a facility for the community to use. If it is approved it will give the village a direct link to the past and, in this centenary year, remind us all of the sacrifice given by others.”

The building is believed to be owned by Humphrey Smith, owner of the Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery, and a decision is due in October.