Memorial

Cross 1914-18 1939-45 Village green

Wall

Memorial Name: Cross 1914-18 1939-45 Village green (W4.01)

NEWMP Ref No.: W4.01

Parish: Wall

Original Location:

On green in centre of village

Which War:

a. 1914-1918
b. 1939-1945

Dedication, Creation or Publication date:

a. Unveiled 18th October 1919 by Lt. Col. Riddell, D.S.O.;
Dedicated Rev. W.W. London, Vicar of Wall, assisted by Mr. Hodgson (Wesleyan Superintendent Minister).

Materials Used:

Robin Hood stone with grey granite panels.

The railings rest on stone brought locally from Black Pasture Quarry.

Who Commissioned:

War Memorial Committee, formed at a Public Meeting in January 1919, in conjunction with the Parish Council.

Cost:

a. Monument £237; iron railings £60; lead letters 10 shillings per dozen, total cost £322.

How Money was Raised:

Public subscription

Sculptor, Artist or Designer:

Mr. R.B. Aves of Hexham

Ownership and Maintenance: Parish Council accepted responsibility at the unveiling ceremony in 1919

Inscription:

a.
Erected
by public subscription in
honour of the men of Wall
and District who served in
the Great War 1914-1919
of whom the following nine
gave their lives.

“They jeoparded their lives
unto the death”

b.
1939-1945

Memorial Description:

Cross of Celtic type, 17 feet 9 inches high (5.8m), smoothly carved, on a rough pedestal 78 inches x 60 inches (198cms x 152cms) at base.

At the foot of the shaft, a crown and other insignia are carved in half relief.

Granite plaques bearing the dedication and the names of those who died in 1914-18 are on the four faces of the pedestal.

The names are of lead in sans serif capitals, apart from the quotation, which is in italic capitals.

The dates and names of those who died in 1939-45 are incised directly into the stone below the plaque on the front face, using sans serif capitals.

The names of those who served are listed in single columns on two sides and back.

The monument is inside a cast iron fence.

Names:

a. 9 names, some ranks and some regiments of those who died.
42 names, ranks and regiments of those who served.
b. 2 names, ranks and regiments of those who died.
See transcript.

Notes:

1. Originally the inscription was to read “Greater love hath no man than this” but this was amended to the one used.

2. There was one proposal for a hall and another for a monument. The monument won by 24 votes against 13 in favour of the hall.

3. From the Parish, 51 men joined, and 9 died.

4. Men who received honours were Pte. R. Robson, M.M. with bar; Pte. Wm. Smith, M.M.; Corpl. E. Smith, gold medal for services in Salonika. given by Serbian Government.

5. The project was deferred for a while because of an outbreak of influenza. Was this the flu epidemic which killed more people in 1919 than were killed in the whole of the Great War?

External Links:

Historic England Listing

Sources:

Photos: R. Craig; P. Thirkell; T. Harding; old postcard: Tony Harding

Hexham Courant
26/10/1919 reports unveiling.

Hexham Weekly News
24/10/1919 reports unveiling.

Illustrated Chronicle
21/10/1910 has photo with brief report.

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle
25/10/1919 reports unveiling.

Northumberland Record Office
Parish Council Minutes Ref PC14/2, 6

Morpeth County Library
Frith collection of photographs.

In Silent Fortitude: In Memory of the Men of the North Tyne Valley who Fell in the Great War; Alan Isaac Grint; 2011; Ergo Press; ISBN 9780955751097

Source of quotation
 “They jeoparded their lives unto death” Judges 5 v 18

Sources Link: Illustrated Chronicle 10 21 Tue -1919

Additional Research Documents

Research Acknowledgements:

R. Craig, Wall Local History Society;
Janet Brown;
P. Thirkell;
Tony Harding;
Dorothy Hall

Research In Progress:

Alan Grint has researched the names on this memorial in his book In Silent Fortitude, 2011 Ergo Press ISBN 9780955751098 :-Cogito books 01434 602555

Provide Details

If you know more about this memorial, please send the details to NEWMP.

Names Documents:

WALL, Village Green.

 

Front:                        Side 1:

  Erected

  by public subscription in       Pte.   J.C.A. Colebank, O. & B.   

  honour of the men of Wall       Col.   N.S. Telford,L.N.L.         

  and District who served in      Pte.   J. Hetherington, Y.L.I.    

  the Great War 1914-1919                R. Gray, K.O.Y.L.I.        

  of whom the following nine             J. Maddison, Middx.R.      

  gave their lives.                      R. Scott, K.R.R.           

                                         W. Mason, D.L.I.           

  Lieut. W. Lee, R.A.F                   T. Ripley,  ”              

  Pte.   G. Gray, R.F.A.                 S. Ridley,  ”              

         W.C. Robson, G.G.               T. Mitchell, M.G.C.        

  L/Cpl. J.T. Bell, N.F.          Cpl.   E.J. Smith, A.S.C.         

  Pte.   R. Maddison.             Pte.   W. Bell,      ”            

         W.S. Hepburn, Y.L.I.            W. Graham,    ”            

         R. Curry, D.L.I.                J. Heppell, A.O.C.         

         A. Walton.

         W. Baird, G.H.

 

  “They jeoparded their lives

   unto the death”

——————————————————–

On lower front:

 

  1939-1945

 

  Sub. Lieut. C.E. Watson, R.N.

  Captain     W.A. Wood, M.C., R.A.

——————————————————–

Side 2:                         Back:

  Sgt.   M.D. Robson, N.F.        E.R.A. M. Purvis, R.N.

         J.W. Walton,   ”         P.O.   J.F. Rowell, R.N.V.R.

  Cpl.   G. Graham,     ”         Cpl.   W. Proudlock, R.A.F.

         T. Heppell,    ”         I.A.C. E.N. Laing,   “

         T.J. Scott     ”         Pte.   J. Herdman,     “

         W. Smith, M.M. ”                J.W. Foster, N.H.I.Y.

  Pte.   M. Bestford,   ”                J.J. Davidson, R.G.A.

         G. Robson,     ”                R. Walton, H.A.C.

         W. Ripley,     ”                A.T. Dodd,  R.E.

         J.R. Wardle,   ”                J. Littlefair “

         R. Robson M.M. with bar.        E. Robson     “

         A. Smith, W.Y.                  J. Wray,      “

         H. Smith, D. of W. Sgt.         R. Bestford, N.F.

         J. Little, S.S.                 J. Henderson,  ”

——————————————————–

The Hexham Weekly News has a variation on one name:

  Pte. A. Maddison, F.F.  

NamesW4.01

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