Cross 1914-18 1939-45 Roadside

On minor road leading to New Hartley

Moved 1930s to Memorial Park;

Moved in 1965 to Elsdon Avenue.

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45

a. Unveiled 2nd September 1922 by Mr. John Charlton, Headmaster of Schools in Seaton Delaval.
Dedicated by Dr. Wild, Bishop of Newcastle. Blessed by Canon W.E. Jackson.

b. Unveiled 10th October 1999 at 3 p.m. by Cllr. Margaret A. Parker, Mayor of Blyth Valley.  Dedicated by Rev. Geoffrey S. Clark, Chair of Delaval Churches Together. 

Creetown granite (silver granite)

War Memorial Committee

Public subscription.
Site provided by Seaton Delaval Coal Company.

Obelisk made by D.W. Forster, Sculptor, Queen Alexandra Road, North Shields.
Railing made by Horsley Bros, Iron Founders, North Shields.

For Motherland

These men of ours, at the
call of King and Country,
left all that was dear to
them, Endured hardness,
faced danger and finally
passed out of the sight of
men by the path of duty
and self-sacrifice; giv-
ing up their own lives
that others might live in
freedom.
Let those who come after
see to it that their names
are not forgotten.

————-
To those who made the supreme sacrifice
1939 – 1945

Cross of Latin type on tapering column supported by side buttresses, capped with a small cross, total height 20 feet (6m).

At the base of the column on each side is a wreath carved in half relief, and beneath is a moulded capital, surmounting the pedestal on which the inscriptions are placed in lead letters.

The dedication is on the front, and the names in a single column on the other three sides.

Below the pedestal are two bases and two steps leading up to the memorial.

Around the whole is a railing. Lettering is incised and painted black.

The names for those who died in 1939-45 were added in 1999 on two columns on each of the four faces of the pedestal.

1914-1918
1. The original proposal for Aged Miners’ Homes was rejected in favour of a Nurse’s Home, costing £900-£1,000. However, after 3 years, only £547 had been raised, of which £250 had come from the Seaton Delaval Coal Co. The final decision was to raise the cross.

2. Lord Hastings objected in principle with a memorial which was of use to the living, but would concur with the majority.

3. “The directors of Seaton Delaval Coal Company have offered a free site for the laying out of a miniature pleasure ground as a permanent war memorial”. Newcastle Weekly Chronicle

4. An early suggestion for a memorial was new Council offices near the Avenue Head crossing, with plaques inside and a lintel stone saying that it was a war memorial.

5. John Charlton, who unveiled the memorial, had two sons killed in the war.

6. The original site was “a stone’s throw from the railway station where the lads entrained for the various theatres of war; it faces the school where they were taught, also the Post Office where their field cards were addressed and the parcels were sent from, and finally it looks down the road where they walked to and from their work at the colliery.”

7. The name “Wm. C. Charlton” should be “Wm. G. Charlton.”

1939-45 Memorial

1. The unveiling of the 1939-45 names was followed immediately by the opening of a Millennium Garden which surrounds the cross. It consists of five flower beds forming a circle round the memorial, each one donated by the different schools in the area: Astley Community High School; Whytrig County Middle School; Seaton Delaval First School; Holywell First School and Seaton Terrace Nursery School

2. At the reception in the village hall afterwards, there was an exhibition about the memorial and its three locations and photographs of some of the men involved.

Historic England Listing

Photos: T.Allan; photos of the 1999 unveiling of names from 1939-45: J. Brown; old photos: T. Allan

Alnwick & County Gazette
24/09/1921 reports public meeting giving details in Note 1 above;
26/08/1922 reports proposed unveiling

Illustrated Chronicle
02/09/1922 reports proposed unveiling this afternoon;
04/09/1922 reports unveiling

Morpeth Herald
14/03/1919 reports proposal for new Council Offices;
23/09/1921 reports on the failure to raise funds, to forget a big memorial and to settle for the cenotaph;
30/09/1921 reports on the “frigid manner” in which people have supported the scheme;
25/08/1922 reports proposed unveiling;
08/09/1922 reports unveiling.

Newcastle Daily Chronicle
24/07/1919 reports decisions and appeals for help with donations.

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle
29/03/1919 reports offer of land in Note 3 above.

News Post Leader
18/11/1999 reports the adding of more names from the plaque in St. Mary’s Church in Holywell

Northern Echo
04/09/1922 reports unveiling.

Shields Daily News
04/09/1922 reports the unveiling ceremony and tells of the makers of the railings

Whitley Bay Observer
08/09/1922 reports unveiling with photos.

Northumberland Record Office
Council Meeting Minutes

Source of quotation:
“These men of ours . . .” Quoted from a certificate sent to all bereaved families under the cypher of King George V

Seaton Delaval and District Local History Society;
Philip Thirkell;
Ralph W. Gould;
Janet Brown,
Mrs. Iris Edmonds;
Reg. Hornsby;
Dorothy Hall

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