Memorial Details
Memorial
Statue 1914-18 Roadside
Reference
T62.02
Place
TURSDALE
Map ref
NZ 304351
Original Location
Tursdale Colliery. Outside Miners’ Cottages, east of Metal Bridge.
Which war
1914-18
Dedication, Creation or Publication date
Unveiled 25th March 1922 by Maj.Gen. Sir P.S. Wilkinson, K.C.M.G., C.H.; dedicated by Ven. Archdeacon Derry.
Rededicated 24th March 2018.
Rededicated 24th March 2018.
Memorial Description
There was a statue of a soldier resting with a reversed rifle.
It stood on a pedestal 5 feet (1.52m) high x 4 feet (1.21m) square base which rests on a platform 10 inches (254mm) high by 6 feet (1.82m) square. Lettering is of lead pinned on, with some letters missing. The quotation is at the bottom in italics.
It stood on a pedestal 5 feet (1.52m) high x 4 feet (1.21m) square base which rests on a platform 10 inches (254mm) high by 6 feet (1.82m) square. Lettering is of lead pinned on, with some letters missing. The quotation is at the bottom in italics.
Materials used
'Sicilian marble statue, on rustic granite base with polished granite inscription plates'. Steps of York stone.
Inscription
to the memory
of the Workmen
of Tursdale Colliery
who paid
the supreme sacrifice
in the War 1914-18.
Lest We Forget.
Not Much To Ask
I need to put down this gun
Put it down and move away from this place
Back from the mud, through grass, then over sea
Put this gun down and close my eyes
Then see without having to bear witness
Listen without being forced to hear
And just stand
Just stand at peace in my Durham home
Names
Who commissioned
War Memorial Committee
Cost
over £314
How money was raised
Public Subscription
Notes
1. The statue was, possibly, demolished by a drunken person or by a car and the pieces taken to a Council yard. Another report states that the head was broken off by vandals and the rest of the figure removed for safe-keeping.
2. Plans to restore the memorial including a new statue were first planned in 2004.
3. From Tursdale Colliery, 219 men enlisted, of whom 41 were killed.
4. The new statue by Ray Lonsdale was dedicated in 2018.
2. Plans to restore the memorial including a new statue were first planned in 2004.
3. From Tursdale Colliery, 219 men enlisted, of whom 41 were killed.
4. The new statue by Ray Lonsdale was dedicated in 2018.
Newspaper cuttings, photos or archival material
Photos: C. Sanders; A.W. Denholm; Dorothy Hall; old postcards: A.W. Denholm
Illustrated Chronicle 23/03/1922 carries photo of memorial to be unveiled the following Saturday.
Newcastle Weekly Chronicle 25/03/1922 reports proposed unveiling this afternoon with picture; 01/04/1922 reports unveiling.
Durham Chronicle 31/03/1922 reports unveiling.
Northern Echo 27/03/1922 reports unveiling.
Durham County Advertiser 31/03/1922 reports unveiling.
Newcastle Daily Chronicle 27/03/1922 reports unveiling.
BBC North East News 04/01/2018.
Source of quotation:
“Lest we forget” Recessional Rudyard Kipling
Illustrated Chronicle 23/03/1922 carries photo of memorial to be unveiled the following Saturday.
Newcastle Weekly Chronicle 25/03/1922 reports proposed unveiling this afternoon with picture; 01/04/1922 reports unveiling.
Durham Chronicle 31/03/1922 reports unveiling.
Northern Echo 27/03/1922 reports unveiling.
Durham County Advertiser 31/03/1922 reports unveiling.
Newcastle Daily Chronicle 27/03/1922 reports unveiling.
BBC North East News 04/01/2018.
Source of quotation:
“Lest we forget” Recessional Rudyard Kipling
External web link
Links to Source Material :
Research acknowledgements
C. Sanders; Gordon Gray; A.W. Denholm; Dorothy Hall; Fitzhugh Collection, Middleton in Teesdale; Jim Murray; BBC News
Research In Progress
Bowburn Local History Society have researched the names on Tursdale memorials
Contact: mike.syer@btinternet.com
Statue 1914-18 Roadside (T62.02)
TURSDALE Colliery.
Front face
Sacred
to the memory of
the workmen
of Tursdale Colliery
who paid
the supreme sacrifice
in the war 1914-18
Lest We Forget
----------------------------------------------------------
First panel Second panel.
John Attley William Jones
George H. Bell George Keith
John G. Bell Charles F. Liddle
John Burke Joseph Littley
Norman Brown Daniel O'Connell
Charles Barker John W. Price
Joseph Bestford John Pyburn
Thomas Crossby William J. Ramsay
Stephen Curry William M. Raine
Thomas P. Chisholm Thomas Rossiter
George Dykes Frederick Stephenson
John T. Gowland William Scott
Frederick Grint Edward Wilson
Robert Grint Joseph Winwood
Richard Garritt Frank Wood
James Huggin William H. Wilby
Walter Harvey John B. Wilby
Thomas Hargreaves Thomas H. Wilkinson
James H. Hall Charles White
George H. Hutchinson James Young
John T. Hallimond
NamesT62.02
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Parish Notes
Every Name A Story
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