Memorial

Plaque Merchant Navy 1914-18 1939-45 Ropner Park

Stockton on Tees

Memorial Name: Plaque Merchant Navy 1914-18 1939-45 Ropner Park (S138.53)

NEWMP Ref No.: S138.53

Parish: Stockton on Tees

Original Location:

Ropner Park, near to the Pavilion

Which War:

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45

Dedication, Creation or Publication date:

Unveiled 30th October 2005 by Capt. Colin Tingle (retired)

Materials Used:

Bronze plaque

Who Commissioned:

Billy McGee, former merchant seaman.

Cost:

Estimated at £1,500

How Money was Raised:

Ropner Navy Memorial Fund, contributed to by the public, local businesses and the local authority.

Inscription:

1914-1918 Merchant Navy 1939-1942

In gratitude and to the memory of all seafarers lost in service from
Ropner & Pool Shipping Co. Ltd.
in two world wars and to those whose lives have been taken by the
unforgiving sea in peacetime.
“On all the oceans white caps flow, you do not see crosses row on row, but those
that sleep beneath the sea, rest in peace, for your country is free”

Funded by Merchant seamen of all nations, their families, local business & the local authority of
Stockton on Tees.

Memorial Description:

Memorial of rough-hewn stone 60 inches high x 42 inches wide (152cms x 107cms).

On the front is a plaque 24 inches high x 36 inches wide (61cms x 91cms) which has a narrow raised edge.

At centre top is the badge of the Merchant Navy.

The dates of the two great wars are on each side of the badge.

Lettering is in raised burnished sans serif capitals.

Names:

None

Notes:

1. This was the brainchild of Mr. Billy McGee, who has also been involved in creating memorials in Germany and Singapore.

2. The park was chosen at the site because it had been given to Stockton Council in 1893 by Sir Robert Ropner, who owned ships which served in both wars.

3. Capt. Colin Tingle’s service includes 30 years with Ropner’s

4. Also present at the unveiling was Geoff Morton, M.B.E., survivor of the Ropner ship Fort Pelly, sunk 20th July 1943.

Sources:

Photos: Jean Machell; Dorothy Hall

Evening Gazette
22/06/2005 reports proposals;
01/11/2005 reports unveiling.

Stockton on Tees Local History Journal No. 13 Summer 2007.

Source of quotation:
“On all the oceans white caps flow . .” To the WWII Merchant Navies of all Nations: Thank you. Published in This England Magazine, Summer Issue 2000.