Memorial Details
Memorial
Cairn 1914-18 Barmoor Castle
Reference
B5.01
Place
BARMOOR
Map ref
NU 003399
Original Location
On side of road near entrance to Barmoor Castle.
Which war
1914-18
Memorial Description
Memorial of rough square-shaped stones piled into a massive monument, about 8 feet high at its highest point, approximately 8 feet deep and 5 feet wide. The dates “1914-1918” are incised at the front.
Materials used
Stone
Inscription
Names
None
Who commissioned
General Sitwell
Cost
£11/1s/7d.
How money was raised
Private subscription
Present condition
Good
Ownership and maintenance
The land on which it stands is maintained by its owner, John Reavley of Barmoor Home Farm, Lowick, Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Notes
1. This is the monument proposed by General Sitwell for Lowick. He had, apparently, offered to provide a monument if the villagers at Lowick paid for workers' cottages to be built. General Sitwell considered that his monument represented the "rough and ready lot of the soldier".
2. "The little village of Lowick, near Berwick, is having trouble over the erection of its war memorial. Some months ago a large boulder of whinstone, surrounded by smaller boulders was set up as a memorial chiefly through the initiative of General Sitwell, of Barmoor, who held a command at Sulva (sic) Bay in the Dardanelles. Most of the villagers, however, objected to the pile as unsuitable for a memorial. A public meeting was held, and a fresh committee appointed with the object of erecting a memorial which would be considered more pleasing to the eye. As a result of this General Sitwell, who had subscribed £10 towards the boulder memorial, sent a further cheque of £1/1/7d, for the cost of the stone and its erection, he now considered the stone his property, and asked to be allowed to withdraw his name as a subscriber. The new Committee retorted by asking him to remove his memorial within six days, and have advertised the fact in the Press that the General's name has been removed from the list of subscribers. What makes the situation more complicated is that the villagers do not appear to have made up their minds yet what they really want as a war memorial" (Alnwick Gazette)
3. A new entrance to the caravan site has been created in a nearby road, so this memorial will no longer be situated at the main entrance.
2. "The little village of Lowick, near Berwick, is having trouble over the erection of its war memorial. Some months ago a large boulder of whinstone, surrounded by smaller boulders was set up as a memorial chiefly through the initiative of General Sitwell, of Barmoor, who held a command at Sulva (sic) Bay in the Dardanelles. Most of the villagers, however, objected to the pile as unsuitable for a memorial. A public meeting was held, and a fresh committee appointed with the object of erecting a memorial which would be considered more pleasing to the eye. As a result of this General Sitwell, who had subscribed £10 towards the boulder memorial, sent a further cheque of £1/1/7d, for the cost of the stone and its erection, he now considered the stone his property, and asked to be allowed to withdraw his name as a subscriber. The new Committee retorted by asking him to remove his memorial within six days, and have advertised the fact in the Press that the General's name has been removed from the list of subscribers. What makes the situation more complicated is that the villagers do not appear to have made up their minds yet what they really want as a war memorial" (Alnwick Gazette)
3. A new entrance to the caravan site has been created in a nearby road, so this memorial will no longer be situated at the main entrance.
Newspaper cuttings, photos or archival material
Photos: J. Brown; Tony Harding
Morpeth County Library Frith collection of photographs
Northern Echo 04/06/1920 reports controversy.
Alnwick & County Gazette 05/06/1920 contains the above report.
Not Forgotten Neil Oliver; Hodder and Stoughton 2005; ISBN 0 340 89872 0 contains a portrait of Lt.Col. Sitwell.
The Journal 13/11/1989 reports the story of this and Lowick memorials.
Morpeth County Library Frith collection of photographs
Northern Echo 04/06/1920 reports controversy.
Alnwick & County Gazette 05/06/1920 contains the above report.
Not Forgotten Neil Oliver; Hodder and Stoughton 2005; ISBN 0 340 89872 0 contains a portrait of Lt.Col. Sitwell.
The Journal 13/11/1989 reports the story of this and Lowick memorials.
External web link
Research acknowledgements
Janet Brown; Berwick upon Tweed Town Council; Tony Harding; Dorothy Hall; Phillip Hanson (Lowick Parish Council)
Research In Progress
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Cairn 1914-18 Barmoor Castle (B5.01)
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Parish Notes
Every Name A Story
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