Memorial Details

Victory column 1914-18 1939-45 Mowbray Park

S140.004

SUNDERLAND

NZ 397566

In Mowbray Park, Burdon Road.

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45

a. Unveiled 26th December 1922 at 11 am by Col. E. Vaux, C.M.G., D.S.O., V.D., dedicated by the Bishop of Durham.

Victory Monument.
Description given in Unveiling Programme:
“The Victory Monument is erected to those Officers and Men who fell in the Great War, 1914 – 18.
It consists of a column and pedestal in the Doric Style of Architecture, composed of Cornish Grey Granite, standing on a platform 4 feet in height and 31 feet wide, approached by 4 flights of steps also in Granite. The platform is surrounded by grass slopes on which wreaths may be laid.
The Column, which weighs 85 tons, supports a winged bronze figure, measuring 12 feet 4 inches from lowest toe to tip of highest wing and weighing 1½ tons, the bronze being finished with an antique Florentine finish. The figure, symbolical of Victory, standing on a Granite ball and clad in flowing classical draperies, is artistically of great interest, being represented as having just alighted on the world after a prolonged flight. The head portrays the strength of Victory – but not without sympathy and Mourning for the fallen. In her uplifted right hand she offers a wreath of laurels to a victorious people, while in the left hand she carries a burning brand held downwards from which flames slowly ascend, a symbol of the resurrection from the chaos and the ashes of the War. “From the ashes they will arise and go forth”.
The column, consisting of base shaft, capital and finial, is in solid blocks, the shaft alone being polished, and is composed of six drums, the lowest weighing 3 tons 3 cwts. The remainder of the Granite work is finely axed. The total height of the monument is 64 feet.
About the pedestal are four carved laurel wreaths, flanked by inverted burning brands from which the flames descend. These are symbolical of a perpetual offering to the fallen. The wreaths support labels, one of which bears the inscription in letters of bronze cast in the Ancient Roman Style".

Bronze figure, Cornish granite plinth.

A tribute to our Glorious Dead 1914-1918 1939-1945.

None

Public subscription. Site given by Parks Committee.

Richard A. Ray, A.R.C.A., headmaster of the School of Art.

Officially handed over to the Mayor at the unveiling ceremony.

1. From the Sunderland area, 112,000 people volunteered on the outbreak of war. A further 90,000 were conscripted. The town raised nearly £14 million in War Bonds, and around £400,000 was invested in War Certificates.

2. Blind people of Sunderland could ‘see’ what their memorial would look like by being able to feel a one-tenth scale model in Sunderland Museum. They could also attend a lecture on the subject in Brunswick Hall. This model also went on display in one of the windows of Binns & Sons in Fawcett Street. The model was designed by Mr. Ray, designer of the main memorial.

3. When laying the foundations for the memorial, some shrubs and trees were removed, so that the memorial, standing in its own enclosure, could be approached whether or not the park is open.

4. Suggestions for a memorial were whittled down to four: An orphanage; educational endowment; institute for ex-servicemen, and medical charities.

5. A procession was planned to commemorate the peace together with a fete. Children from the schools would each be presented with a medal; there would be special entertainment for the elderly, as well as civic and religious gatherings.

6. Repairs were made during Summer 2014 in preparation for the Commemoration of the Centenary of the start of the Great War.

7. The four lights at the corners of Sunderland's Burdon Road War Memorial have been repaired. The lighting columns date back to the 1920s and were installed shortly after the memorial was built. Along with the memorial, the lights are also Grade II listed.
Helping to fit the globes were Coun Michael Mordey, the council's Portfolio Holder for City Services, and Graham Hall, Chair of the Sunderland Armed Forces Network. CounMordey said: "The War Memorial is one of our city's major landmarks, a focus for many events, and the lighting columns are also part of our built heritage.
He added "With the refurbishment works, the lights and their columns have a new and longer lease of life. "The works were programmed to be completed in good time for the 2016 Armistice Day and Remembrance Day Services on Friday 11 November and Sunday 13 November."
The Burdon Road Memorial was completed in 1922. In 2014, to help mark the centenary of the of the First World War, the City Council repaired dozens of the city's war memorials.
Graham Hall, Chair of the Sunderland Armed Forces Network, said: "The Sunderland Armed Forces Network works closely with the City Council on the upkeep of our war memorials. We are all custodians of these memorials so our children and grandchildren also understand the sacrifices that have been made for the freedoms that we all enjoy."
The refurbishment work saw the columns deep-cleaned, inspected, and re-painted.

Photos; C. Sanders; Norman Smith; old postcards Peak & Co., Sunderland; War Memorial Sunderland; Mowbray Park Sunderland Tony Harding collection; John Grainger

Illustrated Chronicle 02/12/1921 reports blind seeing the proposed model; 16/03/1921 carries drawing of the proposed memorial; 27/07/1921 reports display of model in shop window; 09/05/1922 reports laying foundations.

Northern Echo 13/12/1922 reports proposed unveiling by Cllr. W. Raine; 27/12/1922 reports unveiling with photo.

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle 20/12/1922 reports unveiling.

Sunderland Daily Echo 23/02/1921 page 3; 14/03/1921; 15/12/1922; 26/12/1922; 23/01923.

Newcastle Daily Chronicle 07/04/1919 reports peace proposals in Note 4 and 5 above.

Discovering Sunderland S. Pickersgill, 1977, page 35.

A Mayor’s Notebook W.F. Vint, page 129

History of Sunderland T. Cooper page 103

Tyne and Wear Archives Ref. 202/3745 has Unveiling programme.

History of Sunderland William Cranmer Mitchell, ISBN 0 901598 53 4. Tyne and Wear Archives Acc. L3596 Town Histories Reserve Stock. L942.81 No. M.39

The Journal 18/10/2016 reports cleaning of memorials.

Illustrated Chronicle 1921 03 16 Wed

Illustrated Chronicle 1921 07 27 Wed

Northern Echo 1922 12 13 Wed

Northern Echo 1922 12 27 Wed

C. Sanders, the late Dr. R.A. Gould; Roland Riddell; Tony Harding; Norman Smith; James Pasby; Jennifer Morrison; Dorothy Hall; Fitzhugh Collection, Middleton in Teesdale

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

 

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