Memorial 1914-18 1939-45 Worm Hill

Worm Hill

Moved in 1997 to Bonemill Lane, cleaned up and provided with railings.

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45

Unveiled 22nd July 1922 by Mr. Austin Kirkup.

Bolton wood stone. “Hard Yorkshire stone”.

War Memorial Fund, Secretary A. Smirk.

£300

Public subscription.
Land given by the Earl of Durham.

Designed by Messrs. W. Reed, Newcastle;
built by R. Beall, Newcastle.

a.
Sacred to the memory of
the brave men of
Harraton parish who fell
in the Great War 1914-1919.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay
down his life for his friends. St. John 15.13.

b.

Column.

This is octagonal, 48 inches high on pedestal 60 inches high, (121cms x 152cms) resting on three steps, total height 22 feet (6.7m).

The lowest step measures 54 inches x 55 inches (137cms x 139cms).

The whole is set in a paved area inside a wrought iron fence.

The dedication is on the south face.

The names are carried in a single column on all four faces of the pedestal.

The quotation is on the riser of the top step.

All lettering is incised using sans serif capitals.

The names from 1939-45 have been added to the north face.

1. Lord Durham was prepared to give about three acres of land on Worm Hill for the erection of a memorial, provided that it was preserved and not disfigured or excavated. However, the mineral rights were retained by the Earl, and would not be liable for any compensation for damage caused by extracting any coal which might be underneath the land.

2. The parish bought 18 gold watches to be presented to those who distinguished themselves in action.

3. From a population of 3,500, 420 went to serve, giving a rate of 1.14 per home.

4. Worm Hill is the site of the legend of the Lambton Worm

5. There was a proposal to lay out a park around the monument.

6. On the day of the unveiling, three names had been omitted, and an appeal was made for any others missing to be notified to the Committee so that they could be added.

7. By October of that year, the memorial had been “irreverently treated” by boys.

8. In April 2008, a newspaper reports that drainage problems, overgrown bushes and crumbling stonework have been sorted.

9. The original location on the summit of Worm Hill was to the north of the Wear near Penshaw bridge behind “The Biddick” public house.

10. In 1923 a newspaper reported that local boys were stripping poppies off the wreaths and using the circular bases to play quoits with the top of the memorial.

11. The original memorial was surmounted by a Celtic-type cross. This has been replaced by a new Celtic cross dedicated in November 2012 with the obelisk in the memorial enclosure.

Wessington U3A War Memorial Group
Historic England Listing

Photos: C. Sanders; Fred Furness; Simon Raine; Dorothy Hall, Peter Welsh, Jessica Hepple

Auckland and County Chronicle
July 1922 ibid reports proposals for a memorial, the Earl’s donation of the site, and the unveiling.

Illustrated Chronicle
22/07/1920 reports proposals to erect a memorial on Worm Hill;
21/07/1922 reports unveiling tomorrow;
22/07/1922 reports unveiling.

Stanley and Chester le Street News
23/03/1922 reports proposed erection of cross with drawing;

Sunderland Echo
22/04/2008 reports restoration work.

Unveiling programme

Tyne and Wear Archives
Correspondence re contract for erection of the memorial.

Source of quotation
“Greater love hath no man . . . “ St. John 15 v 13

C. Sanders;
Fred Furness;
Fitzhugh Collection, Middleton in Teesdale;
James Pasby;
Alan Vickers;
Dorothy Hall;
Yorkshire Regiment Remembrance

Wessington U3A War Memorials Group (in Washington) has fairly extensive details of the WW1 men on Usworth, Washington Village and Harraton memorials.
There are files of their information about the Harraton men in libraries at Shiney Row, Washington, Washington Village, Sunderland, Newcastle, Gateshead, Birtley and Durham Record Office and Tyne Wear Archives Blandford Street.
The group have lots of photos and are happy to supply to anyone who wants them – they didn’t include photos because of the cost of printing.
They are starting to collect about WW2 men as well – harder to research.
There are also files of info about life and events in Harraton Parish during WW1 in the same places.

Contact: petewelshgettysburg@btinternet.com