Cross 1914-18 1939-45 Korea King Edward VI School

King Edward VI Grammar School

Resited outside the main entrance to the new School in 1973-4.

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45
c. Korean War 1950-53

a. Unveiled 26th July 1922 by G.D. Dakyns, M.A., the Headmaster;
dedicated by the Bishop of Newcastle.

b. Unveiled 11th Nov 1948 by Col. N.I. Wright, Chairman of the Governors,
dedicated by Rev. Canon F. Baker, Rector of Morpeth.

Heworth Burnstone, bronze plaques.

Morpeth Grammar School

a. £250

Public subscription

a. Designed by C.F. Murphy
c. Name of man killed in Korea was engraved by Mr. E. Elcoat, a member of staff in the Technical Dept.

a.
Mors Janua Vitae
Alive for Evermore
Their names on earth, their souls in heaven
1915-1918

b.
1939
1945

c.
Korean
War
1950-3

Cross of Latin type, total height 15 feet (4.6m), on two-tiered stone pedestal.

The dedications are on bronze plaques 9 inches high x 24 inches wide (23cms x 61cms) attached to the front of the top pedestal, and the names are on bronze plaques 30 inches high x 36 inches wide (76cms x 91cms) attached to the front of the lower pedestal.

Each plaque has a cast border of laurel leaves. The names are listed in three columns in raised sans serif capitals.

The plaque for 1914-18 is facing away from the entrance, that for 1939-45 is on the left hand side.

The dedication for the Korean War is on the back, facing the school, on a completely plain bronze plaque 9 inches square (23cms), with the name in Roman capitals on another bronze plaque 3 inches high x 10 inches wide (8cms x 25cms) on the lower pedestal.

1. In 1953, a man complained to the school that his brother’s name had not been added. After careful checking, the name was added.

2. Until the change of address, Remembrance services were held in front of the cross, on or near 11th November.

3. Among the original proposals was a Memorial Hall for assemblies, estimated cost £3,000; another was for a suitable oak bookcase in the “Big School”, the central section bearing plates with the names of the fallen with shelves on each side for books by the best English writers; a third was for a suitable entrance gate to the school. A library was suggested, as was a school sports pavilion. One of the objections to a memorial inside the school was that the hall where prayers were held no longer held all the boys and the atmosphere had gone. It had now been made into a smaller classroom.

4. Mors Janua Vitae translates as “Death is the Door to Life”

5. In 1973-4, when the school moved, a weeping willow and a sorbus (whose leaves turn red in November) were planted alongside. These represent the blood of the fallen and the tears of the bereaved.

6.  The bronze plates were stolen in 2010. These were replaced and the whole memorial underwent a major cleaning and restoration by Abbey Stonecraft. It is now protected by SmartWater. The memorial was rededicated 14th November 2011 by Rt. Rev. Martin Wharton, Bishop of Newcastle.

7. In 2016 the new bronze plaques were stolen. Almost immediately, public response raised over £300 towards a replacement. A marble plaque bearing additional names was unveiled in 2006.

Photos: Janet Brown; Charles Whewell

Alnwick & County Gazette
29/07/1922 reports unveiling

Morpeth Herald
01/08/1919 reports Speech Day and records names of those who fell and Honours gained;
1920 and 1921 passim report on progress;
20/01/1922 reports fund raising, publicity and various suggestions as to what form the memorial should take;
12/05/1922 reports quotations from Emley of Newcastle for bronze plaques and more discussion resulting in the idea of a cross;
28/07/1922 reports unveiling of 1914-18 memorial;
05/11/1948 reports on proposed unveiling of 1939-45 memorial plaques;
17/11/2011 reports rededication after restoration with pictures.
17/09/2015 reports vandalism.

Newcastle Daily Chronicle
12/01/1920 reports scrapping the idea of a memorial hall.

Newcastle Daily Journal
30/07/1920 reports proposal for memorial hall

King Edward VI School records; photos of cross in both locations; details of unveiling ceremony, etc.; photocopy of notice of intention to commemorate the Old Boys who died

The Story of Morpeth Grammar School, Kennedy, G., The Old Boys’ Association, (1951).

Alec H. Tweddle;
Staff of King Edward VI School inc. Charles Whewell;
Janet Brown;
Michael Newrick;
Tony Harding;
Victoria Najafi;
Dorothy Hall

If you are researching this memorial please contact 2014@newmp.org.uk