Cenotaph 1914-18 1939-45 St. Thomas’s Churchyard

St. Thomas’ Church (Stockton Parish Church), High Street, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, TS18 1SP NZ 44547 19234

In churchyard, in south west corner.

1914-18

Unveiled May 31st 1923 by John Frederick Lambton, Earl of Durham;
Dedicated by the Bishop of Durham.
Rededicated May 11th 1997.

Portland stone, bronze panels

War Memorial Committee, Chairman, Sir Frank Brown, J.P.

£7,500

Public subscription, led by the Mayor.

Donations were made by Ropners, the shipping firm; Harrisons the printers; South Durham Steel and Iron Company and Castle Brewery.

Designed by Lanchester, Lucas and Lodge, London, also given as Lanchester, Rickards and Lucas;
made by Messrs Fenning & Co., London

Upper panel:
To the
lasting memory of the
men of Stockton on Tees
who fell in the Great War
1914-1919
And in World War
1939-1945
They died the noblest death
a man may die, fighting for
God, and Right, and Liberty
and such a death is
Immortality.

See ye to it that these
shall not have died in vain.

Middle Lower panel:
The names of the fallen
are inscribed in
the Book of Remembrance
placed in the adjoining
Parish Church.

Cenotaph,30 feet high, 12 feet wide, 8 feet deep (9.1m x 3.6m x 2.4m), four-square with pillars dividing the sides.

It is topped by a cap with a bronze pinnacle, and a bronze crest in front.

On the front main face is a bronze panel with fluted edge and swags at the top.

At centre top is a wreath with the arms of Stockton, and below is the dedication.

Below on a smaller panel 12 inches high x 29 inches wide (304mm x 736mm) are the details of the book of remembrance.

The whole is set within a delicately wrought iron railing.

1. The site of the memorial in the north-west corner of the churchyard, which was already closed and maintained by the local authority, involved the purchase and demolition of 16a High Street and two cottages to provide an open site for the memorial. The cost would be over and above the cost of the memorial itself.

2. The memorial contains a “time capsule” built into the base, containing a copy of the Roll of Honour and copies of the London Gazette announcing the Proclamation of War and the Armistice – all sealed in a bronze box.

3. The list of casualties was said to total 1,223 with 287 of these serving with the D.L.I.

4 The photograph of the unveiling ceremony has a pencilled note on the reverse that the memorial was unveiled on May 31st 1923.

5. “Owing to the secondary schools being full and having waiting lists, the application of the second part of the scheme to give educational assistance to the war orphans has not been possible, but the Committee are giving this matter earnest consideration”. Northern Echo 08/02/1923

6. The total sum raised was £11,864 18s 10d which, after deducting the costs of the memorial, inc. £500 architects’ fees, left a balance of £4,429 18s 10d for the educational part of the scheme which, it was hoped, could be raised to £5,000.

7. Lieut. E. Cooper, V.C. and Sergt. Major Tosefield, a disabled soldier, were selected to lay a wreath at the unveiling ceremony.

8. “The educational part of the scheme was still under consideration, but already three children, whose fathers had been killed in the war, were benefitting from it”. Darlington & Stockton Times

9. 25,000 people attended the unveiling, including 8,000 children.

10. Relatives of casualties received medals at the unveiling ceremony.

11. A travelling museum for schools and public talks was created to mark the 75th anniversary of the unveiling of the memorial.

Historic England Listing

Photos: Simon Raine; James Pasby; Lonely Tower; old postcards: Tony Harding; Dorothy Hall; John Grainger

Darlington & Stockton Times North
16/10/1920 reports appointment of architect;
03/02/1923 reports progress;
10/02/1923 reports proposals for unveiling;
02/06/1923 reports unveiling.

Darlington & Stockton Times South
02/06/1923 reports unveiling.

Evening Gazette
1987 reports that the Cenotaph would be closed off to the public apart from official ceremonies because of “scandalous and distressing” vandalism. Graffiti were being daubed, litter left, flower beds damaged and the site was used as a urinal.

Illustrated Chronicle
01/06/1923 carries photos of unveiling.

North Eastern Daily Gazette
29/05/1923

Northern Echo
08/02/1923 reports proposals in Notes 1 and 5 above;
08/02/1923 reports proposed unveiling and Note 6;
30/05/1923 reports further arrangements;
31/05/1923 reports proposed unveiling;
26/04/1998 reports 75th anniversary exhibition.

Stockton and Teesside Herald
17/12/1921 reports proposals.

The Parish Church of Stockton on Tees T. Sowler, 1988, Stockton on Tees Borough Council Museum Heaviside’s Almanac 1924

Stockton Reference Library
File of correspondence from the War Memorial Committee prior to erection of the cenotaph.

Diocese of Durham
Faculty 1079, issued 14/07/1922 for the erection of the memorial.
Faculty number 6573, issued 08/08/1987, for alterations to the Cenotaph, moving the railings and paving in an attempt to reduce vandalism, the work being paid for by the Borough Council.

Source of quotation
“They died the noblest death . . .” To You Who Have Lost John Oxenham
See to it that these shall not have died in vain. Certificate sent to all bereaved families under the George V cipher and coat of arms.

Fitzhugh Collection, Middleton in Teesdale;
John and Mavis Dixon;
Tony Harding;
Dorothy Hall;
Yorkshire Regiment Remembrance

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