Memorial
Cenotaph Palmer Shipyard 1914-18 Roadside
Jarrow
Memorial Name: Cenotaph Palmer Shipyard 1914-18 Roadside (J2.01)
NEWMP Ref No.: J2.01
Parish: Jarrow
Palmer Memorial Hospital, Jarrow.
In the grounds, by the roadside.
1914-18
Unveiled October 6th, 1921 by Mr. G. Mure Ritchie, Company Chairman.
Dedicated by Rev. E.M. Williams, Rector of Christ Church.
Stone from Greenlaw Quarry, Northumberland.
Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Co., Directors and Shareholders.
Designed by C.S. Errington, Architect;
made by Robert Beall, Sculptor, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Ownership and Maintenance: South Tyneside Council
Dedicated to those who gave their lives
from Jarrow
1914-1919
1939-1945
Erected by
the Directors and Shareholders of
Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Company, Limited
to record their appreciation
of the patriotism of 1,543 men
from the Jarrow and Hebburn Works
in joining His Majesty’s Forces for service
in the Great War 1914-1919
and in grateful and honoured memory
of those who made the great sacrifice
for their country, and whose names
are inscribed on this monument.
“So they gave their bodies to the
Commonwealth, and received each
for his memory, praise that will
never die, and with it the noblest
sepulchre – not the spot where
their bones are laid, but a place
in the minds of men”
Cenotaph “of massive proportions and rising to nearly 20 feet, (6.09m) the outline is simple and effective”.
The slightly tapering monument is topped by an urn.
Panels on the front and sides, each with a laurel wreath raised in half relief at the top, bear the inscriptions.
Names are listed in two columns on each, under the department in which they worked.
Lettering is incised using Roman capitals throughout.
There is an additional panel which adds names after the completion of the cenotaph.
The monument is now surrounded by a hedge, but originally had wrought iron railings round three sides, leaving the front open, with a path round giving the public access to a paved footway two steps above street level.
145 names and place of work plus 40 added afterwards.
See transcript.
1. From this firm, 1543 employees joined the forces, and 140 were killed or died from wounds.
2. In addition to the Cenotaph, bronze tablets on granite blocks were erected by the workmen and staff in each department of the shipyards and works to the memory of colleagues who lost their lives. See Hebburn H93.07 and Jarrow J2.05, J2.27 and J2.28.
3. Some 5,000 people gathered to witness the unveiling ceremony.
4. “It is not surprising that those who undertook the task of collecting the names of the Palmer Co’s. employees who fell in the war, so as to have them engraved on the cenotaph generously erected by the Company, failed to get a complete list. When the memorial was completed the names of forgotten men were forthcoming, and the Company has had to face the difficulty this created. The omission has been made good by affixing a brass plate at the back of the monument”. South Shields Gazette.
5. At the unveiling, the conveyance of the land on which the cenotaph stands, and the cenotaph itself, were handed to the Mayor of Jarrow “for safe keeping, as long as it shall last”.
6. The men who worked in the Blast Furnace Dept. were treated to a social evening where presentations were made to each. From the department, 117 joined up, of whom 62 actually fought. 8 were killed. The fund promoted by the workmen had raised £451 17 shillings and 1,200 parcels had been sent to the forces. Those named who died are: Messrs. Towell; M. Donnelly; R. Donnelly; P. Steele; J. Cavanagh; J. Gourlay Rutherford; J. Raine and P. McAvoy.
7. At a meeting held in June 1920, the possibility of building a children’s hospital was considered by all departments of the business.
Photos: C. Sanders; Vin Mullen
Illustrated Chronicle
30/09/1921 reports proposed unveiling;
06/10/1921 reports proposed unveiling “this evening”.
Newcastle Daily Chronicle
23/05/1919 reports Blast Furnace details given in Note 6 above;
04/06/1920 reports possibility of a children’s hospital;
07/10/1921 reports unveiling.
Newcastle Weekly Chronicle
08/10/1921 reports unveiling.
Northern Echo
04/11/1920 reports meeting re names to go on this memorial in Note 2 above;
30/09/1921 reports proposed unveiling;
07/10/1921 reports unveiling.
Shields Daily News
30/09/1921 reports notice of unveiling;
07/10/1921 reports unveiling ceremony.
South Shields Gazette
23/09/1921 reports proposed unveiling on 6th October, following the unveiling of plaques in each department;
29/09/1921 also reports on proposed unveilings with more information;
07/10/1921 reports unveiling;
28/04/1922 reports addition of an extra plaque at the rear – see Note 5 above.
North Star Darlington
07/10/1921 reports unveiling
Source of quotation :
“So they gave their bodies to the Commonwealth . . .” Thucydides, describing the funeral oration of Pericles in his “History of the Peloponesian War, 431-413 B.C.“.
Additional Research Documents
J2.01 Unveiling Programme 1921
R.W. Gould;
C. Sanders;
Vin Mullen;
Jennifer Morrison;
Dorothy Hall;
Michael Mulhern
The names on this memorial are being researched by Peter Hoy.
Contact: peterhoy@hotmail.co.uk
JARROW Palmer Memorial Hospital, Jarrow.
Dedicated to those who gave their lives
from Jarrow
1914-1919 1939-1945
Erected by
the Directors and Shareholders of
Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Company, Limited
to record their appreciation
of the patriotism of 1,543 men
from the Jarrow and Hebburn Works
in joining His Majesty’s Forces for service
in the Great War 1914-1919
and in grateful and honoured memory
of those who made the great sacrifice
for their country, and whose names
are inscribed on this monument.
“So they gave their bodies to the
Commonwealth, and received each
for his memory, praise that will
never die, and with it the noblest
sepulchre – not the spot where
their bones are laid, but a place
in the minds of men”
—————————————————–
First side
HEBBURN SHIPYARD Robert McKenzie
Walter D. Arthur Edmund McLarney
Thomas Beck Alexr. O’Brien
Charles Carr Alexr. Owens
Michael Conway Andrew Patrick
John Coulson William Patterson
Patrick J. Coyne James S. Scott
John W. Cutmore William Scott
Oswald Dotchin William Shannon
Joseph Duffy John J. Sheppherd
Henry Farries Daniel Shovelan
John A. Ferguson John T. Thompson
Alexr. Fitzpatrick John Twaddle
William Grey James Welsh
Robert Hart BOILER SHOP
Arthur Hartley Ernest Lawson
John G. Hume Thomas Newton
William Irvine FOUNDRY
Charles Knight Robert Dine
William H. Lawson John Robson
John J. Linskey William Ross
Frederick Lydon STAFF
James Lynch Leslie Arkle
R. McBain Alexr. A. Collingwood
John McBarron Sidney Tucker
John McCarty
—————————————————–
Second face
JARROW ENGINE WORKS Herbert Cooper
George Ambler Robert Devlin
George Bonner Robert Harding
William Brown Thomas Joyce
Frederick Carr James Linskey
Edward Carroll Norman Little
Charles B. Chrisp Jos. McCann
James E. Fitzpatrick Joseph McEvoy
William Green James McIvor
Thomas Green Thomas J. Rutherford
John W. Gregg George Stokoe
William Kane BLAST FURNACES
Michael Kerr James Cavanagh
Benjamin Little Robert Donnelly
Arthur E. Marchbanks Thomas Gourley
Thomas E. Slack Joseph Havelock
Robert Townsley John W. Henderson
Herbert Waller Martin Jennings
John Wills George Lamb
STAFF Robert Mack
Thomas G. Gold George Steel
John Nailon John Towell
STEEL WORKS STAFF
Frederick Atkinson Robert Emmerson
William Botto Ernest Huntley
William Burdiss John Meller
William Burgess Frank Wardhaugh
Hugh Campbell
—————————————————–
Third Side
JARROW SHIPYARD Thomas O’Brien
William Allison Walter Reick
John Berry James Robinson
Daniel Bigley Percival Robinson
Thomas Brown Thomas Ronaldson
Joseph Brownlee Joseph H.
Charles Buck Edgar S. Scott
William Burdiss William Scott
Joseph Crowther William Spoors
George E. Dickinson John Steedman
Richard Dixon Albert Stenton
John Dobson Robert Stephenson
Joseph Drewery William Surtees
John Elliott Thomas E. Tooley
Richard Gordon Herbert Warminger
James H. Harding Ralph W. Watson
Stephen Haywood William Welsh
George Holt STAFF
J. Joicey Joseph Dickinson
Arthur Lavery William J. Edmundson
Daniel McKay Patrick J. Finnigan
John McKenna Thomas Forsyth
Thomas Munro Arthur B. Gowan
John J. Munroe Patrick McLaughlin
Robert Murray James J. Tierney
—————————————————–
Names added after completion of cenotaph
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
JARROW SHIPYARD George M. Farrow James Patrick
James Adams David Glass Charles Peacock
Robert W. Bell Robert Graves John C. Petersen
Thomas Bentham Robert W. Harney John Richardson
Matthew Bolam Joseph Lascelles Henry Robson
John R. Bothwick Thomas Lindsay William Roper
Joseph Campbell John C. McDonald Joseph Scott
Thomas Chambers Joseph Mumford Joseph Simpson
James Cochrane John W. Ogden Joseph Smith
—————————————————–
Column 4 Column 5
William Storey James F. Gaffing
Edward Watson Alfred Purvis
Harold Watson John Richardson
GALVANISING WORKS STEELWORKS
Robert Bryanton Thomas Dunn
William Moffett Andrew Henderson
George T. Nellist Thomas A. Howitt
JARROW ENGINE WORKS BLAST FURNACES
James W. Fraser James Charlton
NamesJ2.01
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