Memorial Details
Memorial
Panelling 1939-45 Grammar School
Reference
G39.015
Place
GATESHEAD
Original Location
Grammar School (demolished)
Present Location
Destroyed
Which war
1939-45
Dedication, Creation or Publication date
Unveiled 18th October 1948 by Ald. W.F. Barron, Mayor of Gateshead.
Memorial Description
Panelling, comprising a central section which is taller than the wing panels. The central section is divided into three. In the centre is the school badge with the words "Gateshead Grammar School" around it and the school motto "Toil No Soil". Underneath is a ribbon bearing the dates 1939-1945. The names are painted in single columns on each of the three sections of the centre panel. Lettering is in black and gold.
Materials used
Oak
Inscription
Pro Patria / 1939-45
Names
Present condition
Confirmed 2015 as having been destroyed. See Note 6 below.
Ownership and maintenance
It was handed over by the Headmaster at the Unveiling to the Education Committee in trust.
Notes
1. "The new war memorial of the 1939-1945 war was unveiled last year, after a short service in the school hall, in the presence of the Mayor Alderman W. Barron, Mrs. M. Gunn and the Rector of Gateshead. It has been decided that fresh flowers bought by the students should always stand before it." Gateshead Grammar School Magazine, Jan. 1949)
2. When the School was scheduled for closure, the Headmaster brought the matter of the memorial to the attention of the Education Authority.
3. The school started in 1884 when a High Grade School was set up in Windmill Hills. It moved to Whitehall Road, then to premises at the corner of Durham Road and Prince Consort Road. The school became known as Gateshead Secondary School. In 1944 it became the Grammar School and took boys and girls until the opening of the new Girls’ Grammar School. The school remained as the Grammar School for Boys until 1968. The old buildings became inadequate; new premises were built on Avenue Road and opened in 1964. The old school was demolished to provide space for tennis courts. Following re-organisation in 1968, the school became a co-educational comprehensive under the name Saltwell Senior High School. It closed in 1990.
4. During 1939-45 the school was evacuated to Bishop Auckland where it shared accommodation with the local Grammar School. Two years later the school split, one half moving to Thirsk while the other half stayed at Bishop Auckland.
5. The only woman’s name on the memorial is that of Miss Marian Donaldson, followed by the name of her brother Murray.
6. The school closed; the building was demolished in the 1990s, and was subjected to an arson attack.. The panel was removed to Saltwell Senior High School, Avenue Road, now itself demolished. The memorial was also destroyed.
2. When the School was scheduled for closure, the Headmaster brought the matter of the memorial to the attention of the Education Authority.
3. The school started in 1884 when a High Grade School was set up in Windmill Hills. It moved to Whitehall Road, then to premises at the corner of Durham Road and Prince Consort Road. The school became known as Gateshead Secondary School. In 1944 it became the Grammar School and took boys and girls until the opening of the new Girls’ Grammar School. The school remained as the Grammar School for Boys until 1968. The old buildings became inadequate; new premises were built on Avenue Road and opened in 1964. The old school was demolished to provide space for tennis courts. Following re-organisation in 1968, the school became a co-educational comprehensive under the name Saltwell Senior High School. It closed in 1990.
4. During 1939-45 the school was evacuated to Bishop Auckland where it shared accommodation with the local Grammar School. Two years later the school split, one half moving to Thirsk while the other half stayed at Bishop Auckland.
5. The only woman’s name on the memorial is that of Miss Marian Donaldson, followed by the name of her brother Murray.
6. The school closed; the building was demolished in the 1990s, and was subjected to an arson attack.. The panel was removed to Saltwell Senior High School, Avenue Road, now itself demolished. The memorial was also destroyed.
Newspaper cuttings, photos or archival material
Photos: Nan Smith; James Pasby
Gateshead Times 18/04/1947 the letter of Appeal for funds and names from the Headmaster; 22/10/1948 reports unveiling.
Gateshead Grammar School Magazine January 1949
Gateshead Times 18/04/1947 the letter of Appeal for funds and names from the Headmaster; 22/10/1948 reports unveiling.
Gateshead Grammar School Magazine January 1949
External web link
Research acknowledgements
Nan Smith; Dorothy Hall; James Pasby; Bill Pickard
Research In Progress
If you are researching this memorial please contact 2014@newmp.org.uk
Panelling 1939-45 Grammar School (G39.015)
Left hand panel Central panel Right hand panel.
T. Armstrong Pro Patria T.L. Megoran
B. Atkinson 1939-1945 W.H. Moody
R.H. Avery R. Moorin
E. Bailey W. Nattrass
S. Bell J.A. Nicholson
J.R. Bennett W.E. Pearson
A. Bowman P.H. Peel
A.T. Bowman H.O. Pennington
R.B. Bowran C.H. Peterkin
E.T. Briggs W. Ridealgh
T.A. Brown G.J. Rix
C. Brown H. Robinson
J.C. Burns A. Ross
J.M. Butler J. Ross
E. Coulson A.D. Ross
D.E. Coyle G.M. Inness W.J. Sharp
T. Crankshaw H. Jobling J. Spraggon
W.M.H. Donaldson S.F. Kane J. Summers
Marion S.S. Donaldson J.B. Langley J.M. Tallentire
A. Eades N. Law G.E. Taylor
H.R. Elliott C.T. Lockwood H.N. Temple
J.T. Elliott D. Lowe H. Tyerman
G.H. Emmerson K.M. McKie J.W. Walker
S. Ferguson G.M. McKinlay J.F. Ward
R.A. Freestone E.W. McKinlay N.P. Warden
L. Garbutt B.C. Mann P. Wardrobe
K. George J.R. Mansfield R.H. Welsh
S. Gilfillan A.E. Marshall R.D. Wilkinson
J.R. Hutchison H. Matson J.A. Williamson
-------------------------------------------------------------
In the Tyne and Wear Archives is a list with some variations and which adds details as follows:
List of Fallen (with dates of entry into school)
Thomas Armstrong (1930) M. (Cont)
Bernard Atkinson (1937) Thomas Megoran (1929)
Roland Moorin (1928)
Edgar Bailey (1924)
Stuart Bell (1932) William Nattrass (1935)
Alan Bowman (1930) John A. Nicholson (1931)
Robert Bernard Bowran (1926)
Edgar Tong Briggs (1927) Henry Oswald Pennington (1933)
Thomas Andrew Brown (1936) Philip Henry Peel (1932)
Colin Brown (1930)
James Conway Burns (1933) William Ridealgh (1930)
John Butler (1929) Alan Ross (1933)
John Ross (1930)
Turner Crankshaw (1931) George Jewitt Rix (1932)
Murray Donaldson (1929) William James Sharp (1924)
Marion Donaldson (1932) Joseph Spraggon (1932)
James Summers (1929)
Angus Eades (1932)
George Howard Emmerson (1926) Gavin Edgar Taylor (1923)
Robert Egdell John Maurice Tallentire (1927)
John F. Elliot (1935) Harry Tyerman (1923)
Harry Redfern Elliot (1928)
James Walker (1934)
Ronald Albert Freestone (1933) John Francis Ward (1931)
Stuart Ferguson (1934) Neal ? Warden (1930)
Robert Henry Welsh (1932)
Kenneth George (1937) John Aylwin Williamson (1933)
Leslie Garbutt (1931) Roger Drummond Wilkinson (1930)
Stuart Gilfillan (1930)
James Robert Hutchison (1931)
George M. Inness (1932)
Harry Jobling (1932)
John Birkett Langley (1934)
Norman Law (1932)
Charles Lockwood (1934)
Denis Lowe (1936)
George Mercer Mac Kinlay(1932)
Leslie White Mac Kinlay (1929)
Arthur Marshall (1929)
Harry Matson (1929)
William Moody (1930)
Basil Mann (1925)
Added at bottom:
D.E. Coyle 1931
NamesG39.015
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Parish Notes
Every Name A Story
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