A Member of Parliament has called for a National Inventory of War Memorials! Where has he been for the past 22 years, which is when the National Inventory was established by the Imperial War Museum, and of which we are proud to be part? So far, Tweed to Tees, NEWMP has recorded nearly 4,100, many of which disappeared long ago when the buildings which contained them were demolished.

This call for a list stems from recent cases of people violating war memorials, either by urinating on them or defacing them by stealing the plaques placed with such love and care by a people in mourning for their lost youth.

Bruce Kent of the CND says that we need no more legislation to punish these people. They certainly do need to be educated! Part of the remit of the War Memorials Trust is to encourage the use of anti-theft means to keep them safe, and to advocate that people keep a watchful eye on their own local memorial. Their website http://www.warmemorials.org/protection/ gives advice on how to do this.

Maybe a cure for these disrespectful people would be to take them to the battlefields and make them go through what some of the fighting men had to face, and enlighten them with information on how families had to cope, both during and after the wars. ------------------------------------War Memorial Protection

The war memorial at Bamburgh is to have some restorative work done on it as there is some erosion. This is the one on that beautiful site below the castle walls.

The cenotaph on the links at Whitley Bay is also to have new panels put on in order to tidy it. The bronze panels on it have been stolen, and replaced by steel ones, and it seems that somebody has had a go at removing these as well.

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We have been contacted about a Second World War memorial plaque to members of the New Tunnel Club in Chatton Street, East Howden. The premises are currently being stripped before demolition takes place.

The memorial is of wood and is "quite large". The contractors are keen to see the plaque offered a new home, otherwise it will have to go in the skip! We will, of course, do what we can to prevent this, but if anybody has any ideas, please let us know. ------------------------------------

The aim of The War Graves Photographic Project is to photograph every war grave, individual memorial, MoD grave, and family memorial of serving military personnel from WWI to the present day and make these available within a searchable database. Their website is http://twgpp.org/ See our links page.


NEWMP has been recording war graves whenever the information is sent in. Although our initial remit was to record war memorials themselves, we quickly came to realise that graves and headstones are as important to people, so we include them on our Parish Page.


We wish the Project every success, and if we can be mutually helpful, all the better!
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Our website is included in "Best Websites for War Memorials" in the current (August 2010) edition of Who Do You Think You Are magazine. We would like to extend our thanks to them for this wonderful piece of publicity. ------------------------------------

We at NEWMP have identified the first soldier to be killed on British soil in the Great War.






He was killed on the 16th December 1914 in the Bombardment of Hartlepool.






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Memorial to Pte. Theo. Jones. 18/295 18th D.L.I.

As at 14th August 2010, the total number of War Memorials on the Project database, recorded in the area from Tweed to Tees, is:

4092

We also have a further list of 67 for which we do not have enough evidence to open a file.
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Inspired by stories from his Dad, John Dixon is appealing for information concerning the 70th Brigade in the Second World War.

For further information see the attached link
------------------------------------Northern Echo

Sapper Hackett was awarded a posthumous VC. He was a Tunneller, but the only tunneller to receive this award. An appeal for funds for a new memorial in the tunnellers' memory is about £5000 short of its target.
It will stand approx 40 metres from where Hackett's body now lies from the original shaft. Peter Barton was touched by the story when he researched his book 'Beneath Flanders Fields'.
If you wish to donate all contributions will be gratefully received.

------------------------------------The Tunnellers' Memorial, Givenchy

The latest victims of theft are the bronze plaques on the gateposts at the former Tynemouth Municipal High School.



These were erected "in solemn pride and gratitude" by the Old Students Union in 1920.



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Our bibliography has been updated, thanks to Tony Harding. It lists books from all over the country and all over the world.
If you wish to add to it, please let us know. We are looking for books which either tell the stories of the people who fell or served in war, or contain a Roll of Honour.
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We've had a lovely letter from Mr. Fred Bettess who tells us:

I have lived in the north-east since 1947, but I was born and brought up at Fleetwood on the Lancashire coast. The name Bettess is Cornish, my grandfather came from Padstow and my background is fishing, both my grandfathers were lifeboat men, but I did not go to sea. One of my uncles emigrated to Canada as a young man and he had a large family so I have a number of Canadian cousins, some of whom served with the Canadian forces during the last war. In the far north of Canada there is a very large cold, barren area called the Canadian Shield. It is very flat and there are lots of lakes in it. Until the war most of the lakes just had a number, but after the war the Canadian government decided to name each lake after one of the people who had lost their life in the war.
One of my cousins was killed in the war and there is a Canadian Lake named after him. Another of my cousins arranged for a map showing the lake to be sent to me, and I still have it.
I think that this was a splendid tribute to those who were killed, and at the same time I think that the Canadians were far more appreciative of what their young men did. Their service people got far better treatment than ours did.
I visited your website but it did not produce anything in response to Bettess, but I did not think that it would. I suppose I would need to try the Cornish equivalent if there is one. I hope that this has been of some interest to you."

It certainly is, Fred. It's a fascinating story. What a lovely idea! ------------------------------------

The church of St. Peter at Eppleton was closed a few years ago and placed for sale in 2003. It has now been demolished. (Our ref: E65.01).


The memorial was a beautiful stained glass east window of five lights, which has gone. It was to have been saved, but there is no news of its removal elsewhere. Thankfully, we have a photograph of it.


The window was accompanied by a plaque bearing the names which somehow found its way into a beer store at Hetton Centre.


Thankfully, due to the helpfulness of the manager, the plaque has now been placed where the public can see it in the Hetton Centre, and was officially rededicated on July 1st.
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People looking at our files will have found that there is a lot of variation in the amount of information contained in them. In some instances, the story of a memorial is well-nigh complete, with all possible information, transcripts and photos available. Others, on the other hand, are very sparse, containing very little information at all. They give us a clue to a memorial which has long since disappeared, possibly through a newspaper report, or because somebody thinks they remember such a thing. We live in the hope that somebody, somewhere, will come across something when searching through granny's papers, or in the loft, and find the answer to all the questions.
Please be aware that all the information we have on any one memorial is what you see on the website. If there is little information on the website, you won't receive any more by paying your £2.50. What you see is what you get! ------------------------------------

This project is run on a total voluntary basis. We received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant which enabled us, among other things, to create this website and to buy the computers and equipment with which to run it. That has now run out.
Our main source of income is the sale of files. Our website is free to view, which we feel is important. If somebody wishes to copy a file, it costs £2.50, which we do not consider to be excessive. People e-mail us with queries and these are answered to the best of our ability with no charge.
We estimate that our annual costs will total about £1,000 a year. This includes the maintenance of the website by Effective Internet, plus insurance, replacing equipment, and anything else.
We have, if it were felt necessary, appealed to local councils and grant-giving trusts, in order to pay the costs of a specific expansion of the website, such as, for example, the addition of the Parish and County Pages where we can place information that has relevance but doesn't fit anywhere else.
People have been very kind with their comments about our site. We work hard to maintain it to a very high standard, and information is being added all the time. A few have found it important to place their own information on our website. This costs them nothing, because it fits in with our declared aim of creating a massive tribute to those who have suffered through war, whether they fought, or whether they were left to up the pieces.
There may be some who feel they would like to make a financial donation to our project. For this reason, we have now added a "Donations" box to the Home Page on the website, by which payments can be made using Paypal. Any donation will, of course, be very gratefully received. ------------------------------------

The war memorial plaque which was placed for auction at Rothbury has been bought by the Thropton War Memorial Hall Committee for placing in their War Memorial Hall in order to keep it in the Coquet Valley. The message reads: "It is our intention to permanently put it on show in the Village Hall. We will do all that we can to research where it came from and we would appreciate any info that comes your way. At the moment we only know that it came from a Mr Law. All the names are well known to us and we may be able to establish more about it after we have talked to some of the families." That is, of course, wonderful news, and we would like to thank the auctioneers and everybody else involved. If anybody has any information, please keep us informed. --------------------------------------

The war memorial outside St.George's Church on the seafront at Cullercoats has been vandalised by the removal of the plaque below the cross.


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A memorial plaque was included in a farm clearance to be auctioned. There are 40 names, but these match those on the main Rothbury memorial. It suggests that it might have come from a Nonconformist church in that area, which has either been demolished or put to another use. However, the use of the word "Parish" in the dedication indicates otherwise.

We can only be grateful that somebody kept it in their building rather than throw it away.


Does anybody recognise it, or can anybody throw any light on it?



The plaque was purchased by the Thropton War Memorial Hall Committee and will have a permanent home there.

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NEWMP have received news, via the South Shields Gazette, that the panels could have come from the Marsden Miners Hall in Imeary Street.
But what happened to the missing panels? There are at least 8 missing. Does any one remember them in situ? Have you any pictures or stories concerning this hall?


Please contact Janis Blower or NEWMP, we would be most interested in your comments.





On the right is a picture of one of the panels. Please look at the names. There would have been a lot of names if the full 32 panels were in place. This would have been an impressive memorial wherever it was located.



------------------------------------Cookson County

NEWMP and SOUTH SHIELDS MUSEUMS have recently been trying to trace the location, and missing panels from a very large War Memorial. It consisted of at least 24 metal panels, each at least a metre long in length, with 50 PLUS names on each panel. The person or persons who removed these panels from where they were attached took the time to mark the reverse of the panels with a code number identifying which side was left and right. We are sure that these came from the South Shields area, possibly a colliery, or a club associated with industry. Early research has indicated that the names mentioned on the panels are not all casualties, they could also signify those served. In addition there are at least 6 panels missing. HAS anybody any information on where this War Memorial was originally located, and the location of the missing panels? It would have been a fair size in its entirety. Not easily missed! Please e-mail NEWMP see below. ------------------------------------enquiries@newmp.org.uk

NEWMP have recently been contacted by an independant company to provide a chargeable research service for people wishing to trace their WW1 relative or Medals. He has been in operation for about 10 years, and he is very thorough in his research. Highly recommended!. So if you do not have time to search for your Military ancestors records or WW1 Medals, go to our links page and click on the link for TOMMIES TRACED. This is a commercial website and all fees are payable to Tommies Traced........ ------------------------------------

We have been asked several times lately about how to go about erecting a new memorial. We have now produced a Guidance Sheet and this is on FAQ file No. 20. ------------------------------------

The North East War Memorials Project Team have agreed to be the lead body in a piece of military research which is particularly relevant to a local Unit. John L Dixon, a Volunteer with the Project, and formerly the Treasurer and Website Co-ordinator, is working on a history of the 70th Infantry Brigade 1939-1944. It is planned to make the work available online, associated with the Project Website, rather than produce a book.
The Brigade came into being on 1st September 1939 and was a second-line unit, formed from three duplicate Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry, 10th, 11th and 12th DLI. The 10th was based around Bishop Auckland, the 11th in Durham and Chester-le-Street, and the 12th in Gateshead. Brigade HQ was in Chester-le-Street.
On 1st February 1940, the 12th Battalion DLI became the 1st Battalion Tyneside Scottish, Black Watch, Royal Highland Regiment (in an echo of the Tyneside Scottish Brigade of the RNF which had existed during the First World War) although the Battalion remained with the Brigade.
The Brigade joined the B.E.F. in April 1940 for construction duties on the lines of communication in France and suffered considerable casualties during the German assaults in May 1940, when it was attacked by several Panzer Divisions. Many of the casualties are commemorated on the War Memorials documented on the Website. Many members of the Brigade were captured, and several died as PoWs.
After a tough spell of garrison duties in Iceland the Brigade returned to the UK for further training in mountain warfare, although it was not used in that role, then, along with the rest of 49th Division, moved on to invasion training and landed in Normandy a few days after D-Day.
The Brigade distinguished itself in the subsequent actions in Normandy culminating in the fierce battle for Rauray. Again, significant casualties were suffered in these operations. Sadly, the need for reinforcements for other units as the War in Europe progressed meant that the Brigade was one of the formations chosen to be broken up and it was disbanded in Autumn 1944, its members being dispersed to other Battalions.
NEWMP will be making a bid for Heritage Lottery funding to complete this work on 70th Brigade, which will include a database, as comprehensive as records allow, of those who served in its ranks, together with links to the North East War Memorials on which its dead are commemorated.
If you have any information on family members who may have served with these three Battalions, or with the associated Artillery and Medical Units, please get in touch with John Dixon at 70brigade@newmp.org.uk he will be very pleased to hear from you.
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An e-mail from Phil Jennett reads as follows:

I am currently researching the 1,500+ men who became casualties of WW2 after having served with the South Lancashire Regiment at one time or another. I am looking for assistance in obtaining Photographs of the relevant Headstone, and any additional information that you may have available to you.

If you wish to help, please contact Phil Jennett on phil_jennett@hotmail.com ------------------------------------

A memorial commemorating all those who died or served at RAF Acklington during 1939-45 is being prepared and will be unveiled at Chevington Cemetery on Sunday, 28th March ------------------------------------

As part of its latest online exhibition, the Royal Air Force Museum has opened an electronic Book of Remembrance to commemorate the memory of those who have served in the Royal Air Force, the Royal Flying Corps, Woman's Royal Flying Corps, Woman's Auxiliary Air Force and the Woman's Royal Air Force. You are invited to add a name, from which a list will be compiled.

The main theme of the exhibition is the importance of Remembrance to the Nation and can be viewed by visitors to the website.

The Royal Air Force Museum London is open daily from 10am to 6pm. Last admission is 5.30pm. Entry to the site is free.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/news/article.cfm?news_id=215
Scroll down quite a long way until you get to the page. ------------------------------------
RAF Museum

Occasionally, people contact us to say that the details given on a war memorial are not correct.
Our policy is to make accurate transcripts of what is on the memorial. If we adjusted this we would be compounding an error.
If details are shown to be incorrect, we make a note of this on the file, saying what the memorial says, and what our informant says it should be.
The latest adjustment has not been a name, but a service number given incorrectly in a Book of Remembrance. The correct number has been confirmed by service records. We have, therefore, made a note on the file. ------------------------------------

The war memorial plaque from Park Terrace Presbyterian Church, Bensham, (B134.09 see link below) which languished in a Council yard for several years, now has a new home. It is on pallets at the west end of the graveyard at St. Mary's, Gateshead, where it will remain until a find a permanent site is found. In the meantime, it is on view for anyone to see.
Thanks to Anthea Lang for this information.


------------------------------------War Memorial Plaque

The change of local government to Unitary Authorities in Northumberland and Durham has meant many changes. However, we have decided to keep the 1974 divisions into districts, as this should help those who know that their forebears came from - say - Teesside. It also helps to locate places where a placename - such as Thornley - occurs more than once.
Adjustments to files are being undertaken all the time. When new photos come in which are better than the ones we have, the old ones are being replaced. Thanks to new technology, photos can now being enlarged and enhanced where needed to show more detail. Descriptions are also being altered.
Some files are being moved. Newcastle upon Tyne is a case in point. Many memorials originally listed here are, in fact, located in suburbs which have their own identity, such as Elswick or Jesmond, so these are being transferred to where they should be. We suggest that you use the Index for guidance.
We are also working on the lists of names. In the original programme, these appeared higgledy-piggledy, very unsightly and difficult to read. We are going through these as fast as we can to ensure that they appear in straight columns.
This is a long and laborious process which is being worked on continuously. Information is being received all the time, either adding to what we already know, or as full submissions about new memorials or the replacing, relocation or repair of old ones. We crave your patience! We are trying very hard to provide an excellent source of information, especially useful to those people living abroad who cannot come to search for themselves in the North East of England.
Anybody is welcome to submit information about the memorials themselves. Some people are now sending in biographical details of their own forebears from the North-East of England who fought for their country. We are delighted to receive these, and add them under the sender's name to the record free of charge.
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The Annual General Meeting took place on January 30th 2010 at 11 am in the Education Room of the DLI Museum. After the meeting there was a presentation by Neil Anderson from the Northumberland Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Team.

Many of those accessing the NEWMP Website have commented on the usefulness of David Butler's guide to researching War Memorials - found via the links on our Home Page under "Research War Memorials"

The Project Group are delighted that, in response to our inclusion of a hyperlink to the vitally important Commonwealth War Graves Website, the CWGC have put in place a hyperlink to www.newmp.org.uk from their own links page. This is a significant recognition of the quality and comprehensiveness of our Project Website and supporting database.

Click here to read Newsletter number 1.

Those visitors to the Website who wish to see the complete list of every War Memorial included on the NEWMP Database for every town and village in the North East can view the Project Index. We upload the full "Working Index", which is the most comprehensive list of War Memorials in the Region (Tweed to Tees), at regular intervals, as changes are made.
It includes those War Memorials on which we have little or no information and would welcome any input. These are coloured green to draw attention to help we need. Some of them may have long disappeared, but we live in hope that somebody, somewhere, has a picture in their attic!
The list is set out in in alphabetical order of town or village, subdivided to show the location in which the Memorials can be found. We would stress that, while the Index can be consulted freely, it is strictly copyright, and cannot be downloaded or copied.
The information can be accessed by clicking on the "Indexes" box towards the top of the Home Page - this leads to a County level choice and then on to a document giving a detailed listing.
We hope you find the Index valuable - it lies at the core of over 20 years of detailed work. It is hoped that having included the full "Working Index" on the Website, local researchers will be encouraged even further to close the information gaps.
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NEWMP, through our Website Developers - Effective-Internet Ltd - put in place arrangements for users to download details of individual War Memorials. Each download will normally cover the description of the War Memorial, a list of the commemorated names where appropriate, and the relevant photographs. The charge for a file download is £2:50 – which compares reasonably with Library and Archive photocopying charges – and goes to supporting the work of the Project. NEWMP decided to use PAYPAL as the best-known, secure means of making payments on line, and hope that visitors to the Website will find this a convenient method of payment. A successful download is notified to the customer by e-mail and remains "live" for a week. The links within the e-mail should be followed and the file can then be saved to the user's own computer and printed out as required.