Histioric England is considering Listing the war Memorial as part of the commemoration of the centenary of the First World War.

This has prompted us to record some of the details, and we would like to ask the families of those who lost their lives in the conflicts commemorated on the memorial if they have photographs or family stories they can recount. Please use the contact form below. Also we hope that all of the detail in this post are correct, please let us have any corrections or futher information.

History
The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Witton Gilbert as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 43 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War..

222 men from Witton Gilbert joined up to serve in the war, of whom nearly 20 per cent fell. The memorial was originally erected in the Graham Memorial Park in Witton Dene. It cost £400 which was raised by public subscription. The designer was JG Burrell of Durham. It was unveiled on Saturday 2 September 1922 by Lt Col JR Ritson, TD. Large numbers of
representatives from parish and district organisations were also present.

The memorial park provided work for the unemployed but sadly suffered from vandalism even before the unveiling. After the Second World War the names of ten casualties of that war were added. During the C20 much of the old village was demolished leaving the memorial somewhat isolated. It was relocated in 1978 by members of 105 Squadron, 72 Regiment the Royal Engineers with support from the local community, and rededicated on 5 November that year. It was unveiled in its new position by Capt D Brown and rededicated by Fr Ian Hoskins.

The memorial’s original height was 23 feet, but a photograph taken in its original location shows it had a three-stepped base. It is not clear if the lower step survives in the new location, but if so it is buried beneath the paving surrounding the memorial. The relocation revealed that the memorial comprised 28 pieces, the largest of which weighed 2,800 lbs (more than 1.2 tonnes). The memorial was cleaned and the inscriptions recut in 2000.

Details
A First World War memorial of 1922, by JG Burrell, with later additions for the Second World War, and relocated in 1978.

MATERIALS: Stainton sandstone.
DESCRIPTION: standing in a small memorial garden accessed from Briar Lea.

The memorial faces west and comprises a cross of St Cuthbert on a tapering octagonal column with a square pedestal set on two octagonal steps. The pedestal has stopped chamfers and a hollow-moulded, tapering top. The cross-shaft has an elaborate moulded foot with recessed panels to each face and a tetrahedral band. The abacus is also moulded, and the cross has a three-stepped octagonal foot.

The inscriptions are incised. Around the bottom of the cross-shaft foot is inscribed:
GREATER/ LOVE/ HATH/ NO MAN/ THAN TO/ LAY DOWN/ HIS LIFE FOR/ HIS FRIEND.
The west face of the pedestal is inscribed: WITTON GILBERT WAR MEMORIAL/ ROLL OF HONOUR/ OF LOCAL HEROES WHO DIED/ FOR THEIR KING AND COUNTRY/ DURING THE GREAT WAR/ FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS/ LORD GRANT THEM EVERLASTING PEACE.

The rolls of honour are inscribed on the north and south faces. The names are listed by the year of death (which continue to 1920), then alphabetically by surname with rank and regiment. The east face is inscribed with the dates 1939 – 1945 and ten names listed alphabetically by surname without ranks or units.

                                         North face

                                                    1914

PTE                     George                   Moody                                   8^th  D.L.I.

                                                    1915

PTE                     Gilbert                 Hodgson Robson                  8^th  D.L.I.

                                                    1916

PTE                     Joseph                  Armstrong                              2^nd  E.Y.

PTE                     Joseph                  Beardmore                              6^th   E.Y.

PTE                     Cuthbert             Carr                                          15^th D.L.I.

PTE                     Matthew             Cumming                           18^th D.L.I.

PTE                     Thomas               Guy                                            27^th N.F.

PTE                     Charles Joseph  Graham                                     5^th   D.L.I.

PTE                     Thomas James  Goodwin                                    2^nd  D.L.I.

PTE                     Herbert             Cill                                              13^th D.L.I.

LCE CPL             George              Jackson                                        2^nd   D.L.I.

BOMB               Richard               Lisco                                             8^th   E.Y.

PTE                     Roger                 Parkin                                         20^th D.L.I.

PTE                     Gibson              Snaith                                          13^th D.L.I.

SERGT               Robert               Yule                                              19^th D.L.I.

                                                    1917

SERGT               Arthur Ernest Clark                                       2^nd   D.L.I.

PTE                     George          Craggs                                            1^st    Worcester

STOKER             Thomas        Davison                                         H.M.S  SUPERB

PTE                     Arthur              Edmundson                                6^th    BORD

PTE                     Ernest              Hunter                                           9^th    W.Y.

PTE                     Tom Allanson Hardy                                            19^th  N.F.

PTE                     Robert              Knowlson                                      8^th    Y.

                                                 South face

                                                                     1917

LCE.CPL             Owen William Maule                                            25^th N.F.

PTE                     Jacob              Martin                                              1/4^th K.O.Y.L.I

PTE                     Alexander Logan McDonald                                   8^th E.Y.

GUNNER          William Thirkell Pratt                                               5^th D.L.I.

PTE                     John James      Smeatham                                    6^th YORKS.

PTE                     Albert Moyes Walker                                            19^th Y.

PTE                     Thomas             Brown                                              3^rd N.F.

LIEUT                 William Henry Brown                                           18^th D.L.I.

PTE                     John                  Godfrey                                           15^th D.L.I.

PTE                     George              Johnson                                          16^th CHES.

LC CPL            Thomas Gadstone Martindale                                14^th D.L.I.

PTE                     Charles              Metcalf                                            20^th D.L.I.

GUNNER          Simpson Turnbull Parkin                                          R.G.A

PTE                     George               Roe                                                    2^nd D.L.I.

PTE                     John                   Roe                                                      A.S.C.

PTE                     George Cuthbert Raine                                          18^th D.L.I.

PTE                     John                   Walton                                            15^th D.L.I.

PTE                     Frederick        Wardman                                          R.C.A.

                                                    1919

PTE                     William            Wise                                                 8^th D.L.I.

                                                    1920

PTE                     Henry               Overton                                           2^nd  YORKS.

PTE                     Robert Wilkinson Yule                                            8^th   D.L.I.

                                           East face

                                                    1939   –   1945

Bramfitt E.                                             Kelsey  G.

Burdon J.W.                                            Plank  G.W.

Carroll J.                                                 Reynolds  J.G.

Denton T.W.                                           Swinton  T.

Farnsworth R.                                      Waterson  J.W.

Websites
Full details from the North East War Memorials Project, accessed 12/11/19 from
http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=9194