Cross 1914-18 1939-45 Roadside

On the High Street, adjacent to St Peter’s C of E Church, opposite the Recreational Green, Byers Green, Sedgefield, Durham. DL16.

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45

a. Unveiled 12th April 1925 by Dr. T.A. Beresford Kane, J.P. of Bishop Auckland;
dedicated by Rev. F.E. Loxley, Rector of Byers Green.

b. Memorial panel unveiled and wall dedicated 6th June 1948 by Rev. Richard Cartwright, Rector of St. Peter’s.

Granite

War Memorial Committee

a. £330
b. £175

a. Public subscription.

b. Monthly house to house collections; donations; sale of photographs; jumble sale; programme sales.

a. Messrs. Lowes of Durham.

b. William Allison & Sons tender of £175 was accepted.

a.
To the
Glory of God
and in honoured memory
of the men of
Byers Green
who laid down their lives
for their country
during the Great War
1914 – 1918
“Their bodies are buried in peace,
but their name liveth for evermore.”

b.
1939-45
“Their seed shall remain for ever and
their glory shall not be blotted out”

Maltese Cross of St. Cuthbert, 17 feet high (5.18m).

Weighing 21 tons, it stands on a tapering square shaft with chamfered corners.

This stands on a pedestal on two steps.

The bottom step is protected by a low rail.

The whole stands within a small concreted area with three-course stone wall surround, with flower tubs.

The dedication is on the front face of the pedestal, and names for 1914-18 are carried in a single column on the sides of the pedestal, those for 1939-45 on the back.

The lettering is in sans serif plain capitals, with the quotations in italic capitals.

A soldier outline and a seat have been added to the area.

1. The addition of the names from 1939-45 included improvement of the site. This included the removal of the railings and the provision of a low stone wall set at an angle of 35 degrees. A hedge would also be removed and replaced by the old railings. These plans had been intended for the original memorial site but there were insufficient funds to do this.

2. The list of 1939-45 names submitted for addition to the memorial were printed in the parish magazine and included ‘John Thomas Scanlon’, which was adjusted to ‘Laurence Scanlon’ now on the memorial.

3. In the April 1948 parish magazine, “It will be noticed that the contractors have now started to carry out the work . . .we would like to appeal to the public-spiritedness of adults to teach the children not to interfere with the work and particularly to respect the sacredness of the Memorial itself. Children are just children after all but a kindly word will do much to show them that the opening out of the memorial is not a new playground”.

4. “The unveiling of the 1939-45 memorial panel and the dedication of the new stone walling tool place on Sunday June 5th (1948). It was most unfortunate that the weather was so bad but in spite of the rain there was a very large attendance of villagers.” (Parish Magazine May June 1948).

5. The costs had still not been met but house-to-house and other collections carried on afterwards. By the time the Committee was wound up in October 1948 the total raised covered the costs.

6. J.E. Cartwright, who submitted information on the 1939-45 addition to the memorial, was the son of Rev. Cartwright who was Chair of the 1939-45 War Memorial Committee.

7. Dr Kane, who unveiled the memorial in 1925, formerly had a practice in the village, and knew many of the men named on the memorial.

Information on men who served with the Yorkshire Regiment

Historic England Listing

Photos: Simon Raine; photos and photo of 1948 dedication: J.E. Cartwright

Auckland and County Chronicle
16/04/1925 reports unveiling.

Darlington & Stockton Times
12/06/1948 reports unveiling.

Durham County Advertiser
30/05/1924 reports proposed design.

Northern Despatch
07/06/1948 reports unveiling.

Durham County Record Office
Ceremony for unveiling of 1914-18 memorial D/X 779/5/16;
Photo of memorial and Order of Service D/X 779/16/40-45;
Names on cenotaph 1914-18 1939-45 D/X 779/69

St. Peter’s Byers Green Parish Magazine
Dec. 1947-Nov.1948 contain progress reports of the addition of the names from 1939-45 and the improvements to the site.

Spennymoor in Old Picture Postcards (A.J. Coia) carries a photograph of the memorial.

Sources of quotations:
“Their bodies are buried in peace . . .” Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus 44.
“Their seed shall remain . . .” Apocrypha Ecclesiasticus 44 13.

Fitzhugh Collection, Middleton in Teesdale;
John and Mavis Dixon;
Dorothy Hall;
J.E. Cartwright;
Yorkshire Regiment Remembrance

Jim and John Grainger are creating an archive of information about each person named on the local War Memorials and would like to hear from anyone with stories, photographs or memorabilia.

Contact:- monreith@aol.com