Memorial

Plaque Thanks for safe return 1914-18 St. James

Hunstanworth

Memorial Name: Plaque Thanks for safe return 1914-18 St. James (H107.01)

NEWMP Ref No.: H107.01

Parish: Hunstanworth

Original Location:

St. James’ Church, on road south of Blanchland.

Which War:

1914-18

Materials Used:

Alabaster

Inscription:

We thank Thee
Lord
for bringing back
Our Soldiers
safely home.

Memorial Description:

Plaque 24 inches high x 18inches wide (61cms x 46cms).

There is a wide border of brown/white, with a raised squared pattern of flowers at intervals up the sides and in the corners.

At the top is the “I.H.S.” symbol in half relief.

The dates are along the bottom border, raised in half relief on a carved ribbon.

The dedication is on a white panel in the centre, with the lettering carved and painted brown, using Gothic script.

Names:

None

Notes:

1. The Brief Guide to the Church reads “Notice the War Memorial on the West Wall, erected after the 1914-18 war. Very few other villages were so spared”.

2. F.J. Wade in Vol.1 of “The Upper Derwent Valley” describes it as a brass plate inscribed “We thank God for the return of our soldiers from the Great War 1914-1918”.

3. This village is known as a “Thankful Village”, a term coined by Arthur Mee to describe the places whose men all returned home from the 1914-18 war.

4. On August 3rd 2013 the village was visited by a group of men on motorbikes from the “Thankful Villages Run” who were reaching all 51 Thankful Villages. They presented each with a plaque which they hoped would be dedicated on 3rd August 2013 at 11 a.m. along at the same time as all the other villages.

External Links:

Thankful Villages

Sources:

Photos: C.N. Dallison, Simon Raine; Photos: August 3rd 2013 visit by Dorothy Hall

Weardale Museum Folder containing information on local war memorials.