South Shields war memorial

Summary

First and Second World War Memorial, 1926 to the designs of J H Morton; sculpted in Portland stone by William Robertson Cliff of South Shields.

Reasons for Designation

South Shields War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: an attractive memorial in the form of a tall and slim Latin cross designed by the highly-regarded practice of Messrs J H Morton & Sons of South Shields.

History

This war memorial was commissioned by South Shields War Memorial Committee to commemorate the 3,000 men of the town who died in the First World War. It was erected in 1926 within the grounds of Ingham Infirmary at a cost of £1,105, 4s; the remainder of the money raised in the town was used to endow in perpetuity 24 cots for children at £500 per cot in a new wing of the infirmary. The memorial was designed by Messrs J H Morton & Sons of South Shields and the sculptor was William Robertson Cliff of South Shields. Joseph Hall Morton (1849-1923) practiced in South Shields and has a number of listed buildings on the National Heritage List for England, including several in South Shields. He was a workhouse specialist and was responsible for all or parts of several workhouses in the North of England and the Midlands.

It was proposed that the memorial would be unveiled by the Earl of Durham on 28 February 1926, but due to illness it was instead unveiled by Sir James Readhead of Westoe Hall, President of the Ingham Infirmary. It was dedicated by Revd J Hudson Barker. The hospital, in whose grounds the memorial was erected, was partially demolished in the late C20.

Details

First and Second World War Memorial, 1926 to the designs of J H Morton; sculpted in Portland stone by William Robertson Cliff of South Shields.

The memorial is situated at the intersection of two main roads. It takes the form of a tall and slim Latin cross with expanded terminals and moulded intersections. The memorial stands 25 feet (7.62m) high and has a bronze crusader sword on the front and back and a rope moulding to the base of the shaft. It stands on two steps on top of a pedestal, which in turn stands on a 4-stepped octagonal platform. A bronze plaque on the pedestal has a raised decorated border with lettering in raised Roman capitals and reads:

'TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ THOSE OF THIS TOWN/ WHO LAID DOWN THEIR/ LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR,/ THIS CROSS WAS ERECTED/ AND TWENTY FOUR COTS/ IN THE CHILDREN'S WARD OF THIS INFIRMARY/ WERE ENDOWED BY/ PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION'.

Incised onto the stone faces adjacent to the bronze plaque are the dates:
'1914-1918' and '1939-1945'.

On the riser of one of the steps is incised the details of the unveiling:
'UNVEILED BY/ SIR JAMES READHEAD BART/ 28TH FEBRUARY 1928'.


This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 7 February 2017.

Sources

Websites
North East War Memorial Project, accessed 10-03-2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=9117
Dictionary of Scottish Architects, accessed 10-03-2016 from http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=201339
War Memorials Register, accessed 7 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/17865
War Memorials Online, accessed 7 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/231021

End of official list entry

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