Monument 1914-18 1939-45 Village Green

Outside the Old Reading Room

On Village Green, Backworth Lane

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45

a. Unveiled December 2nd 1922 by Col. L. Taylor of Hinderside Hall, Kelso;
Dedicated by Rev. E. Arkless, Vicar of Earsdon, and Rev. R. Davies.

Granite on stone plinth.

Erected by J.H. Taylor, Earsdon.

a.
Lest
We
Forget.

To the
honour
of our
glorious
dead
&
In memory of
the men of Backworth and West Holywell
who fell in the Great War
1914-1919

b.
In memory of
the men who fell
in the Second Great War

Obelisk on stepped base, total height is 14 feet (4.3m).

The front smoothed face of the obelisk is decorated with flags and bears the words “Lest We Forget” and “To the memory of our glorious dead”.

The obelisk rests on a pedestal which has smoothed faces to bear the inscriptions.

The dedication for 1914-18 is on the front, the dedication for 1939-45 has been added on the back.

The names are listed in a single column on the sunken smoothed faces on all sides.

It rests on a staggered pedestal, 66 inches x 66 inches (168cms x 168cms) at base, on the fourth riser of which is written “1914-18”.

The dates “1939-45” are incised into the step below.

The lettering is incised and painted black, using sans serif capitals throughout.

It is on a raised site which has six steps leading up to the monument.

1. The original idea had been to erect a nurses’ home, on a site offered by the Duke of Northumberland and with the Backworth Coal Co. promising £1,000. But two years later, the Committee still not had arrived at a decision. The idea of having one memorial for the district had been defeated by individual memorials being erected at Earsdon, New York and Backworth. Because of the circumstances, the Backworth Coal Co. withdrew its offer of £1,000.

2. The war memorial was re-erected on the village green in 1948.

3. The names of those who gave their lives in 1939-45 were inscribed by Mr. Gordon Thomas, a native of Backworth, who knew and had gone to school with many of them.

4. The photocopy of the unveiling photograph from Mrs. Edmonds shows her grandfather, Pipe Major John Wilson and his son, John Wilson. “At the outbreak of World War 1 my grandfather, then aged 51, his three sons and his brother-in-law Garnet Wolseley Fyfe joined the Tyneside Scottish Brigade. My grandfather was asked to transfer to the Tyneside Irish Brigade as Pipe Major and his eldest son, also John Wilson, stayed as Pipe Major with the Tyneside Scottish. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, my uncle John Wilson piped the men in his section ‘over the top’ and marched ahead across the battlefield, for which action he was awarded the Military Medal. Further along the line Garnet Fyfe piped his section into battle and was killed within minutes. His name appears on the war memorial at Shiremoor.”

Heritage England Listing

Photos: J. Brown; P. Thirkell; Tony Harding; copies of photo of unveiling: R.H. Mitchelson, Killingworth L.H.S.

Blyth News
04/12/1922 gives report of unveiling ceremony.

Illustrated Chronicle
04/12/1922 reports unveiling with photos.

Morpeth Herald
25/04/1919 reports proposals inc. three nurses’ homes at a cost of £2,000;
06/06/1919 reports efforts to provide a memorial;
16/01/1920 tells of the Duke’s donation of land beside Backworth Railway Station for the erection of a nurses’ home, and the donation of £1,000 by Backworth Coal Co.
1921 passim reports fund raising efforts.
16/12/1921 records withdrawal of £1,000 by Backworth Coal Co. through procrastination.
08/12/1922 reports unveiling.

Newcastle Daily Chronicle
06/01/1920 reports donation of plot of land from the Duke of Northumberland and the promise of £1,000 from Backworth Coal Co.

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle
09/12/1922 reports unveiling.

Northern Echo
04/12/1922 reports unveiling.

Shields Daily News
16/12/1921 tells of the troubles in obtaining a nurses’ home; press report of the unveiling ceremony.

Source of quotation
“Lest we forget” Recessional Rudyard Kipling.

Philip Thirkell;
Anne Brown (Earsdon);
Allan Oliver and Norman Grainger (Killingworth L.H.S.);
Janet Brown;
Jack Tait (Blyth L.H.S.);
R.H. Mitchelson, (Killingworth L.H.S.);
Mrs Iris Edmonds;
Dorothy Hall

If you are researching this memorial please contact 2014@newmp.org.uk