Furnishings 1914-18 1939-45 Johnston Technical School

Johnston Technical School, South Street, Durham.

In assembly hall.

The school was rebuilt at Crossgate Moor in 1952 as Johnston Grammar-Technical School, now called Durham Johnston School and rebuilt again in 2010.

The memorial is on the north wall of the assembly hall

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45

a. Unveiled 22nd October 1921 by Dr. Hensley Henson, Bishop of Durham
b. Unveiled 29th June 1948, dedicated by Rev. R.F. Morgan, a former Old Johnstonian.

Brass in light oak.

School

Subscriptions from parents, staff past and present, and pupils of the school.

Designed and made by the North of England School Furnishing Company.

a. On desk:
A tribute from the boys of 1918-1920 to the Johnstonians who served and fell in the war 1914-1918

On panelling:
In memory of
Old Johnstonians
who gave their lives in
the Great War 1914-1918.
Nothing is here for tears, nothing but well and fair
and what may quiet us in a death so noble.

b. On two panels:
1939-1945

Memorial 2016
Central plaque:
In memory of
Old Johnstonians
Who gave their lives in
1914 The Great War 1918
(Names)
Nothing is here for tears, nothing but well and fair
and what may quiet us in a death so noble.

Below
The memory of the righteous is a blessing

Left hand plaque:
1939-1945

Below
A tribute from the Boys of 1918-1920
to the Johnstonians who served
and fell in the War 1914-1918

Right hand plaque:
1939-1945

Below
A tribute from our young people
in 2010-2011 to Johnstonians
known and unknown who have fallen in war.

Panelling with three brass plaques set in a wood frame.

Each has a raised plain border with a square pattern at each corner and at the centre point on all four sides.

The central one bears the dedication and names in three columns for 1914-18.

The two outer panels bear the names in two columns for 1939-45.

The memorial also includes a memorial desk, and chairs of similar character.

1. One of the Masters, Mr. F.E. Dann, received the Croix de Guerre thus: “In the course of the advance in April 1918, this warrant officer, with two men, rendered valuable service in the evacuation of the civilian population in the advance zone. After the fall of Estaire, the refugees came down the road in crowds along the Neuf-Berguin road. Dann managed to form convoys for their evacuation, and this sent down more than 1,100 of them, and all this under a bombardment of gas shells, which was driving the people mad with fright. For three weeks, helped by his two men, he revisited the abandoned villages to see that no inhabitant was left behind”. The document was signed by Marshall Petain, who was decorated by the King at a chateau near Arras, on the same occasion as Mr. Dann received the decoration of the M.V.O.”

2. Two other masters received medals:
Mr. Cousins was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Captain Crawshaw, who taught Chemistry, was awarded the Military Medal. He served with the Public Schools Battalion and was killed in action on Salonica. See his Every Name A Story entry.

3. The proposal for 1939-45 memorial was for a brass plate on either side of the 1914-18 panelling. Balance of funds was to be used to provide:
(i) two brass flower vases;
(ii) electric clock framed in dark oak for the school hall;
(iii) interest on the remainder to provide a memorial prize of books to be presented to the School Vice Captain.

4. A proposal for a vellum book to be provided in an oak case was withdrawn as “such a list could never be satisfactorily completed”.

5. One of the 1939-45 names is that of Isidore Newman, a Jewish spy who went on two missions in occupied France before being captured by the Gestapo, sent to a labour camp where he was executed. See his Every Name A Story entry.

6. The present school was formed by the amalgamation of three schools in 1979 ( Durham Johnston, Brandon, Whinney Hill and later in 1984 Landsdowne) as Johnston Comprehensive School and operated on the Crossgate Moor and Whinney Hill sites until 2010.

7. Following the rebuilding of the school, the plaque lay in an office until efforts in 2011 to re-erect it were put in place. The school raised £5,000 in three months, including a donation of £2,000 from the City of Durham Freemen.

Durham Johnston School 

Photos: Simon Raine; James Pasby

Durham County Advertiser
21/10/1921; 28/10/1921

Durham Times
11/02/2011 reports proposals and fundraising to re-erect the plaques.

Illustrated Chronicle
24/10/1921 reports unveiling.

Newcastle Daily Chronicle
24/10/1921 reports unveiling.

Northern Echo
17/10/1919 reports the award of the Croix de Guerre to F.R. Dann in Note 3 above;
24/10/1921 reports unveiling;
08/02/2011 reports rededication efforts in Note 7 above with photo of handing over of cheque by the Freeman.

Durham County Record Office
E/C/G 252 and 253 has document appealing for funds for 1939-45 memorial, containing names collected so far;
also Minutes (in a standard school exercise book) regarding 1939-45 memorial.

A History of Durham Johnston School Michael Robson, 1998.

Source of quotation:
“Nothing is here for tears . . .”: Milton’s “Samson Agonistes”

Fitzhugh Collection, Middleton in Teesdale;
John and Mavis Dixon;
Dorothy Hall;

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