Memorial

Statue 1914-18 Roadside

Tursdale

Memorial Name: Statue 1914-18 Roadside (T62.02)

NEWMP Ref No.: T62.02

Parish: Tursdale

Original Location:

Tursdale Colliery. Outside Miners’ Cottages, east of Metal Bridge.

Which War:

1914-18

Dedication, Creation or Publication date:

Unveiled 25th March 1922 by Maj.Gen. Sir P.S. Wilkinson, K.C.M.G., C.H.;
dedicated by Ven. Archdeacon Derry.

Rededicated 24th March 2018.

Materials Used:

‘Sicilian marble statue, on rustic granite base with polished granite inscription plates’.

Steps of York stone.

Who Commissioned:

War Memorial Committee

Cost:

a. over £314

How Money was Raised:

Public Subscription

Sculptor, Artist or Designer:

Replacement statue made by Ray Lonsdale.

Inscription:

Sacred
to the memory of
the Workmen
of Tursdale Colliery
who paid
the supreme sacrifice
in the War 1914-18.

“Lest We Forget.”
———————————————-
(2018)
“Not Much To Ask”

I need to put down this gun,
Put it down and move away from this place,
Back from the mud, through grass, then over sea,
Put this gun down and close my eyes,
Then see without having to bear witness.
Listen without being forced to hear.

And just stand

Just stand at peace in my Durham home.

Memorial Description:

Statue of a soldier resting on a reversed rifle.

It stands on a pedestal 60 inches high x 48 inches (152cms x 121cms), slightly tapered, which rests on a platform 10 inches high by 72 inches (25cms x 182cms) square.

On two sides of the pedestal are panels with a raised surround bearing the names in a single column on each. Lettering is raised lead sans serif capitals.

The quotation is at the bottom in italics.

There is another plaque from 2018 which bears a quotation “Not Much to ask”

Names:

41 full names.
See transcript.

Notes:

1. From Tursdale Colliery, 219 men enlisted, of whom 41 were killed.

2. The statue was demolished, possibly by a drunken person or by a car and the pieces taken to a Council yard. Another report states that the head was broken off by vandals and the rest of the figure removed for safe-keeping.

3. Plans to restore the memorial including a new statue were first planned in 2004.

4. The new statue by Ray Lonsdale was dedicated in 2018.

External Links:

Ray Lonsdale website

Sources:

Photos: C. Sanders; A.W. Denholm; Dorothy Hall; old postcards: A.W. Denholm

Durham Chronicle
31/03/1922 reports unveiling.

Durham County Advertiser
31/03/1922 reports unveiling.

Illustrated Chronicle
23/03/1922 carries photo of memorial to be unveiled the following Saturday.

Newcastle Daily Chronicle
27/03/1922 reports unveiling.

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle
25/03/1922 reports proposed unveiling this afternoon with picture;
01/04/1922 reports unveiling.

Northern Echo
27/03/1922 reports unveiling.