Memorial

Plaque 1914-18 Post Office

Newcastle upon Tyne

Memorial Name: Plaque 1914-18 Post Office (NUT021)

NEWMP Ref No.: NUT021

Parish: Newcastle upon Tyne

Original Location:

Central Post Office, St. Nicholas Street (Closed)

Present Location:

Royal Mail Processing Centre, Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead.

Which War:

1914-18

Dedication, Creation or Publication date:

Unveiled Saturday 19th March 1921 by Cllr. T.W. Rowe, Lord Mayor of Newcastle.
Dedicated by Canon Newsom, Vicar of Newcastle.

Materials Used:

Brass

How Money was Raised:

Subscriptions from employees of all grades in the Newcastle Postal District and the Northern Engineering Area.

Sculptor, Artist or Designer:

Cowell and Gatiss, Sunderland.

Ownership and Maintenance: Royal Mail

Inscription:

This tablet is erected by
the members of the Staff in the
Newcastle upon Tyne Postal Area
and the
Northern Engineering District
in honour of their colleagues who served their
King and Country
and to perpetuate the memory of those who
lost their lives in the Great War 1914-1918.

Memorial Description:

Plaque of popular design 45 inches high x  22 inches wide (114cms x 56cms).

There is a wide border of Celtic knotwork standing proud on a black background.

In each of the four corners is a circle containing the cypher of “G.R.”

At the top are two crossed Union flags with a crown between.

The dedication is in a mixture of sans serif capitals and fancy lower case lettering with some letters in red.

The names are in four columns, divided by a single vertical line between each, using sans serif capitals.

Names:

153 surnames and initials.
See transcript.

Notes:

1. Of those who served, there were several medals 1 DSO., 1 OBE (Military), 9 Military Cross, 5 DCM., 1 DSM., 22 MM., 8 MSM., 4 Croix de Guerre and 5 others, plus 19 mentioned in dispatches.

2. Of 2,000 postal employees, 1,500 joined up, including 10 women. 153 died.

3. The memorial was “set up above the counter, to the right of the public entrance”, originally in an oak frame.

4. Approx. £100 had been over-subscribed for the monument, and this was distributed between the Newcastle Orthopaedic Centre, Post Office Sanatorium at Benenden and the Rowland Hill Benevolent Fund.

5. This may well have replaced at least one earlier one which was unveiled on April 25th 1917 by Mr. J. Chambers, Postmaster.

6. When first moved to Team Valley, the memorial was in the public lobby, where it was unnoticed. It was moved in 2009 to the lobby through the efforts of Peter O’Donnell (retired postman) and Bill Sadler (Royal Mail engineer). Mr. Sadler and Mr O’ Donnell have put together information on the names on the memorial which is held in an A4 file to the left of the WW1 memorial.

Sources:

Photos: R.W. Gould; Dorothy Hall; Peter O’Donnell Collection

Illustrated Chronicle
21/03/1921 reports unveiling with a photo.

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle
26/03/1921 reports unveiling.

Northern Echo
21/03/1921 reports unveiling.

Shields Daily News
21/03/1921 reports the unveiling.

Royal Mail Courier
December 2009 carries an article on the removal of the memorial to the lobby in Note 6 above.

Sources Link: Northern Echo 03 21 Mon -1921
Sources Link: Illustrated Chronicle 04 26 Thu -1917
Sources Link: Illustrated Chronicle 03 21 Mon -1921

Additional Research Documents

Research Acknowledgements:

Ralph W. Gould;
F. Furness;
Philip Thirkell;
Ted Dodds;
John Windsor;
Tony Harding;
Dorothy Hall;
Bill Sadler;
Peter O’Donnell

Research In Progress:

Bill Sadler and Peter O’Donnell have shared their research with NEWMP and are allowing us to add it to the website.

Provide Details

If you know more about this memorial, please send the details to NEWMP.

Names Documents:

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE.  Main Post Office, St. Nicholas Street.

 

  This tablet is erected by

  the members of the Staff in the

  Newcastle upon Tyne Postal Area

  and the

  Northern Engineering District

  in honour of their colleagues who served their

  King and Country

  and to perpetuate the memory of those who

  lost their lives in the Great War 1914-1918.

 

  FALLEN

  Adams, W.        Crozier, A.R.          Hudspith, H.     Rae, J.W.

  Aitken, R.       Cullis, J.W.           Hudspith, T.W.   Reed, C.F.

  Anderson, R.     Currey, W.J.L.         Jackson, H.W.    Reid, M.

  Angus, W.        Curry, F.W.P.          Jones, T.        Renwick, R.S.

  Armstrong, F.    Curry, J.A.            Jordon, W.       Robinson, E.J.

  Atkinson, R.     Davidson, R.C.         Keir, J.         Robson, B.R.

  Attwood, W.H.    Davis, G.              Kelly, P.        Robson, R.

  Bailes, A.       Davison, T.            King, A.         Rowland, W.

  Baker, W.        Davison, W.R.          King, M.         Scaife, T.J.

  Barron, C.S.     Dellow, J.             Kingston, J.E.   Schoolar, W.

  Bell, W.         Dodds, E.P.            Leech, J.W.      Shadforth, L.H.

  Binks, R.        Donaldson, W.H.R.      Lennox, J.R.     Shaw, J.

  Blacklock, R.W.  Donnelly, R.H.         Longstaff, J.H.  Sim, B.

  Blench, W.       Dow, J.                Longstaff, J.W.  Sivill, S.C.

  Blenkarn, G.     Drummond, W.J.         Lourie, E.J.     Smith, A.B.

  Bone, J.A.       Elliott, N.W.          Lowrey, T.B.     Smith, S.

  Brittain, W.D.   Emery, E.J.            Luke, J.         Spark, F.W.

  Brown, J.W.      Etherington, R.E.      Lynes, A.        Stearman, C.

  Bruce, F.M.      Fahey, J.F.            Makepeace, T.W.  Stobbs, J.O.

  Bryne, I.W.      Ferguson, W.C.E.       Maxwell, T.      Sutherland, F.

  Buckham, A.      Featherstonehaugh,W.S. McDermott, M.    Taylor, H.C.

  Bunting, T.H.    Fielding, G.           McGurk, E.       Thompson, J.

  Burke, C.S.P.    Findlay, G.E.          McIntee, J.P.    Todd, H.G.

  Bushell, J.F.G.  Gale, F.J.             McMillan, T.     Turnbull, F.W.

  Cain, J.E.       Gall, W.A.             McVay, P.        Vernon, F.L.

  Cameron, J.S.    Gallon, W.E.           Milet, J.M.R.    Vincent, G.

  Carr, J.         Gill, H.               Moor, T.M.       Waddington, J.T.

  Carroll, J.      Glendinning, J.        Morton, W.       Waitt, H.E.

  Carter, R.G.     Goodall, A.C.          Mullen, H.H.     Wallace, G.

  Clark, H.F.      Graham, N.V.           Noble, R.E.      Watson, J.

  Conlan, A.       Grant, J.W.            Octon, R.W.      Waugh, J.W.

  Coulson, T.      Hall, A.R.             O’Halloran, W.H. Weightman, W..

  Counsellor, J.M. Harrison, W.S.         Parker, W.F.     Westgarth, D.H.

  Counsellor, T.   Haw, J.                Payne, J.H.      Whittle, S.J.

  Craggs, E.       Heppell, R.            Pearson, W.F.    Wilson, M.D.

  Craig, A.        Hewitt, J.M.           Piddock, T.C.    Wilthew, W.N.

  Craig, I.        Hopper, T.H.           Quince, T.J.     Wood, T.

  Crone, W.L.      Howell, W.             Quinn, W.H.      Wright, J.I.

                                                           Wright, J.T.

NamesNUT021

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