The parish of Thornley contains a number of war memorials dedicated to those who served and fell in the First World War and later conflicts. The village memorial takes the form of a large open area with a featured wall that was erected in 1959 and lists the names of the fallen from two World Wars. In 1995 the area was refurbished and a small obelisk was added in front of the main wall that is dedicated to John Youll, a soldier from Thornley who was killed in 1918 but awarded the Victoria Cross. Other memorial plaques and features can be found in the church of St. Bartholomew and in the Working Men's Club.