Memorial

Cross 1914-18 8th D.L.I. St. Mary and St. Cuthbert

Chester le Street

Memorial Name: Cross 1914-18 8th D.L.I. St. Mary and St. Cuthbert (C105.18)

NEWMP Ref No.: C105.18

Parish: Chester le Street

Original Location:

Church of St. Mary and St. Cuthbert, Church Chare, DH3 3QB.

In the north aisle.

Which War:

1914-18

Dedication, Creation or Publication date:

Unveiled in this church 1st July 1928 by Col. John Turnbull.

Materials Used:

Wood cross.

Bronze plaque.

Who Commissioned:

Durham Light Infantry.

Inscription:

On cross:
The gallant Officers and Men of
8th Battalion
The Durham Light Infantry
who fell near this place
in an attack
Nov. 5th 1916.

Below:
“Dulce et decorum est
pro Patria Mori”.

On plaque:
This cross was originally erected
on the Butte de Warlencourt,
near Bapaume, France, during the
Great War 1914-18, as a memorial
to the Officers, Non-Commissioned
Officers, and men of the 8th Btn.
The Durham Light Infantry,
who fell in the action at that
place on November 5th 1916.

A permanent memorial was erected
on the Butte de Warlencourt
and the cross was transferred
to this church on July 1st 1928.

Memorial Description:

Wood cross, with rounded ends to arms and top, with lettering painted black on the crosspiece.

At its foot is a plaque bearing the words “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” in Gothic script.

Below is a bronze plaque 12 inches high x 15 inches wide (30cms x 38cms) giving the story of the cross. It has a moulded border, the lettering is in raised and burnished Roman capitals throughout.

Below this again is a picture 12½ inches high x 14 inches wide (32cms x 36cms), of the Butte de Warlencourt, showing the three crosses erected to commemorate the men of the 9th, 6th & 8th Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry.

Names:

None

Notes:

1. The three crosses erected on the Butte de Warlencourt were brought together to the Durham Light Infantry Museum for the first time since their removal from France. This was the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme in 2006 and again in 2016 for the centenary in Durham Cathedral.

2. The other two crosses are in Durham Cathedral D47.073 and St. Andrew’s, South Church, Bishop Auckland, S144.03

Sources:

Photos: Dorothy Hall; Kevin Milburn; old postcard: George Nairn

The Journal
24/06/2006 reports all three Butte de Warlencourt crosses being on display in the DLI Museum;
5/02/2007 carries a report of this memorial together with a photo of the Bradford Bros.

The Monumental Brasses of County Durham William Lack, H. Martin Stuchfield and Philip Whittemore 2002 ISBN 095 4327101

District Guide 1970s.

Memory Lane-Durham City Michael F. Richardson ISBN 1 85893 193 1 carries an old photo of the cross.

Source of quotation
“Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” (“It is a sweet and noble thing to die for one’s country”) Horace, Odes Book 3, No.2, 1.13