Obelisk Joyce 1918 Joyce 1940 Loud Terrace

Opposite Loud Terrace

1914-18

Unveiled 14th May 1919 by Mrs. Mackay, wife of the headmaster of Greencroft School,
dedicated by Rev. Fisher Ferguson, Vicar of Collierley.
Rededicated 12th July 1959

Stone

Inhabitants of Annfield Plain

£50

Public donation mostly raised by local children.

Messrs. W. Ayton and Sons, Blackhill.
Fencing provided by Lord Roberts’ Memorial Homes, Newcastle.

Shield:
It
was here
Sergt Pilot
Joyce
met his death
on the night of
March 13th
1918.

Upper base:
This monument is erected by the
inhabitants of Annfield Plain and
District in grateful recognition
of this gallant airman’s
great sacrifice
in his own words, “our lives are not
our own, they belong to our country”.

Lower Base:
Dedicated 14th May 1919
renovated & rededicated 12th July 1959
Let us also remember his son
Sergt Obs. Dennis Arthur Joyce
missing believed killed on the night of
12th – 13th September 1940 over Germany
aged 22 years.

Obelisk of roughened stone set upon a two tiered base and surrounded by rough-hewn stone wall.

The wall bears three stone panels situated behind the memorial.

The memorial itself has a badge of an eagle with a crown above on the front face and below that a shield raised in carving with details of the crash.

The dedication is on the front face of the plinth.

Further lettering is on the front face of the lower plinth.

All lettering is in sans serif capitals.

The monument is flanked on both sides by flower beds.

1. It would appear from a set of three holes to either side of the obelisk at its pinnacle that there has been something fixed to the memorial at some point in the past.

2. There was an iron railing round the memorial, which was removed during 1939-45.

3.  A crowd of between 2-3,000 gathered for the unveiling ceremony. Among them were Sergt. Waterman and Sergt. Harvey, from Hylton aerodrome, the only two airmen left on the Wearside Station who were comrades of Sgt. Pilot Joyce.

4. A letter to the Committee secretary published in the Press was from Sgt. Pilot Joyce’s widow, writing from Clapham Common, London, and reads:
Dear Sir, Please accept my deepest regret at being unable to be present at the unveiling of the memorial on Wednesday. I intended being present, and daresay there will be some disappointment among you good people of Annfield. There seems to be no-one who can manage to get the time free to go with me, and I feel that the ceremony will be too much for me alone, I found it so hard to bear. If you will kindly permit me I would like to come up to see the memorial soon when I can go quietly to it. I hardly know how to express my gratitude to you all for the honour you have shown to my dear husband’s memory; it is very comforting to know that the great sacrifice he made was so appreciated by the people. My thoughts will be with you all on Wednesday and I shall hope to see you soon. I enclose photos of my two little ones. I am, yours sincerely, F.A. Joyce.

5, The Memorial was renovated and an ornamental surround added.
The re-dedication took place on 12 February 1959 by Air Marshal Sir Geoffrey Bromel K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O.
West Stanley R.A.F.A. did the work on the surround in memory of all ranks of the RAF.

6. See Arthur John Joyce’s Every Name a Story entry

7. See Denis Arthur Joyce’s Every Name a Story entry

Historic England Listing

Photos: R. Carson; Simon Raine; Dorothy Hall; Photo of Sgt.Pilot Joyce in FE2B plane: Anon donor; Old postcard: George Nairn;

Poem: George Nairn

Blaydon Courier
23/03/1918 tells the story of the crash;
30/03/1918;
24/05/1919 reports unveiling

Consett Guardian
23/05/1919 reports unveiling.

Durham Advertiser
01/11/1957 tells the story.

Northern Echo
15/05/1919 reports unveiling

Annfield Plain and District by Jack Hair (People’s History) 2002

The story of Annfield Plain and District F.J. Wade contains a lot of information about the crash and the raising of the memorial.

Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, 1939-1940; W.R. Chorley; 1992; Midland Counties Publications; ISBN 0 904597 85 7

Britain’s Aviation Memorials and Mementoes (1992) David J. Smith, Patrick Stephens Ltd.; ISBN 1 85260 395 X

Northumbria at War Derek Dodds, Pen & Sword Military, ISBN 1 84415 149 2 has on pages 153 to 156 an account of the circumstances of Sgt Joyce’s death, including a photo of the type of plane he was flying at the time, together with a photo of Loud Terrace and a photo of Sgt Joyce’s memorial.