Summary
First World War memorial, 1926, with additions for later conflicts.
Reasons for Designation
Easington Colliery War Memorial, which stands in Easington Colliery Cemetery, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a sympathetic adaptation of Sir Reginald Blomfield’s Cross of Sacrifice.
History
Easington Colliery War Memorial was unveiled on 30 January 1926 by Colonel Pickersgill, commemorating 198 local men who died during the First World War. It cost £440 and was made by GW Pratt of Easington. Following the Second World War, new inscriptions commemorating the 63 men who died in that conflict were unveiled in October 1949 by Lt-Col R Telford, Chairman of the Durham County British Legion Branch. A further inscription was added to commemorate the death of a soldier in Bosnia in 1995.
Details
The memorial stands at the centre of Easington Colliery Cemetery, to the south of the Easington Colliery Disaster Memorial. It comprises a version of Sir Reginald Blomfield’s Cross of Sacrifice, in pale grey granite. The cross, bearing a reversed sword in bronze, rises from an octagonal pedestal. That stands on a three-stepped, octagonal, granite base, which is raised on a further two steps of a different material.
End of official list entry
