Memorial Details
Memorial
Stained Glass Window and Plaque 1914-18 St. Wilfrid
Reference
NUT180
Place
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Map ref
NZ 238642
Original Location
St. Wilfrid’s Church, Blandford Street (Demolished). NZ 241638
Present Location
St Matthew's Church, 11 Summerhill St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6EJ. NZ 238642. Just inside the main door on the left hand side at the foot of the stairs.
Which war
1914-18
Memorial Description
Stained glass window.
Plaque set in a stone frame total 4 feet 2 inches high x 3 feet 8 inches wide x 3 inches thick (1.11m x 1.27m x 76mm) surmounted by a stone cross 18 inches high (476mm). The central plaque is 24 inches square (608mm) and bears the dedication in gilded lettering. Names are listed in two columns divided by a vertical line.
Plaque set in a stone frame total 4 feet 2 inches high x 3 feet 8 inches wide x 3 inches thick (1.11m x 1.27m x 76mm) surmounted by a stone cross 18 inches high (476mm). The central plaque is 24 inches square (608mm) and bears the dedication in gilded lettering. Names are listed in two columns divided by a vertical line.
Materials used
Slate plaque was in a stone frame. Now framed in a wooden oak Frame.
Inscription
This Window is erected to the Glory of God / and in Loving Memory of the Men from this / Church and District who gave their lives in the Great War / 1914 - 1918
All you had hoped for, all you had, you gave / To save mankind – yourselves you scorned to save.
All you had hoped for, all you had, you gave / To save mankind – yourselves you scorned to save.
Names
Who commissioned
St Wilfrid's Church
Cost
£85.
Present condition
Restored 2018. By Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council.
Sculptor, Artist or Designer
Designed by W.H. Wood, Architect. Made by Messrs. Emley and Co.
Ownership and maintenance
St Wilfrid's Church, then supposed to have been transferred to St Matthew's.
Notes
1 'Further to my phone conversation with you on 8th August 2005, about a war memorial. The name of the church is St.Wilfrid’s and it was on Blandford Street, which is just off Westmorland Road in the Elswick area of Newcastle. I have found out from the Library that the church was Anglican and built in 1900. The memorial plaque was approximately oblong in shape, and had gold lettering. My grandfather was called James Dunbar, he was a private in the first battalion, the Northumberland Fusiliers, and he lived in Blandford Street.' (Letter from Mr. Michael James).
2. 'My grandfather James Dunbar lost his life in that war and his name was on the plaque which was on a church wall St Wilfred’s in Blandford Street. The church was pulled down a few years ago and we have been unable to find the whereabouts of the plaque.' (Letter from Mrs. L.E. Head).
3. A Diocese of Newcastle Faculty No. 1845 dated 31/03/1953 states, among three other items 'That the 1914-1918 War Memorial (stone tablet) at St. Wilfred’s Mission Church (now disused) be removed and transferred to St. Matthew’s Parish church and fixed near the south end of the west wall (interior). Costs to be covered by gifts, and partly by St. Wilfred’s Trustees'. If this happened, in 2011 it was no longer there.
4. At the unveiling of a stained glass window (See NUT232) It was stated that 'Later, there will be placed outside the building a stone tablet on which the names of the dead will be inscribed'.
5. At one stage it was suggested that a plain slate plaque be affixed to the brick wall at a cost of £12/10/0d. The inscription, cut and gilded, at the rate of 10/6d per dozen letters.
6. The payment for the bill for the Memorial was delayed, and the supplier received a 'terse' comment from then, the new incoming Church secretary complaining that it was not his responsibility to pay for the outgoing parish council Memorial request. It was paid with great reluctance.
7. The slate plaque is no longer in its original stone frame, this was demolished along with the church. The only surviving feature of the Memorial is the slate slab engraved with the names. Still showing the round ring from being used as a flower pot stand!.
8. This Memorial was rescued from a skip in 2014, that builders had been using to renovate hotels in the Centre of Newcastle, a member of the public rescued this and held it in private hands temporarily. E-mails to the relevant Church authorities advising them of this War Memorial, was met with negative and indifferent responses over a period of 2 years. It is also remarked that there was another smashed plaque showing an anchor and in white with a naval connection. The Hotel in question had been using the War Memorial slab as a flower pot stand in the entrance for years!.
9. The memorial was subject to an on-going rescue plan to re-locate this and put it back on permanent display which eventually happened.
10. It has to be recorded that the Church Authorities, [who own this Memorial], were contacted a few times over a period of 2 years and were completely unhelpful and uncooperative, and no empathy was shown, despite the fact a Faculty was issued.
11. This War Memorial had been missing for over 30 years.
12. The Memorial was re-located to St Mathews on the 6th November 2018, by Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council. Cost £2768. The plaque now has a light oak frame. The lettering is to be regilded.
13. The SGW has been destroyed. The Church was used in WW2.
2. 'My grandfather James Dunbar lost his life in that war and his name was on the plaque which was on a church wall St Wilfred’s in Blandford Street. The church was pulled down a few years ago and we have been unable to find the whereabouts of the plaque.' (Letter from Mrs. L.E. Head).
3. A Diocese of Newcastle Faculty No. 1845 dated 31/03/1953 states, among three other items 'That the 1914-1918 War Memorial (stone tablet) at St. Wilfred’s Mission Church (now disused) be removed and transferred to St. Matthew’s Parish church and fixed near the south end of the west wall (interior). Costs to be covered by gifts, and partly by St. Wilfred’s Trustees'. If this happened, in 2011 it was no longer there.
4. At the unveiling of a stained glass window (See NUT232) It was stated that 'Later, there will be placed outside the building a stone tablet on which the names of the dead will be inscribed'.
5. At one stage it was suggested that a plain slate plaque be affixed to the brick wall at a cost of £12/10/0d. The inscription, cut and gilded, at the rate of 10/6d per dozen letters.
6. The payment for the bill for the Memorial was delayed, and the supplier received a 'terse' comment from then, the new incoming Church secretary complaining that it was not his responsibility to pay for the outgoing parish council Memorial request. It was paid with great reluctance.
7. The slate plaque is no longer in its original stone frame, this was demolished along with the church. The only surviving feature of the Memorial is the slate slab engraved with the names. Still showing the round ring from being used as a flower pot stand!.
8. This Memorial was rescued from a skip in 2014, that builders had been using to renovate hotels in the Centre of Newcastle, a member of the public rescued this and held it in private hands temporarily. E-mails to the relevant Church authorities advising them of this War Memorial, was met with negative and indifferent responses over a period of 2 years. It is also remarked that there was another smashed plaque showing an anchor and in white with a naval connection. The Hotel in question had been using the War Memorial slab as a flower pot stand in the entrance for years!.
9. The memorial was subject to an on-going rescue plan to re-locate this and put it back on permanent display which eventually happened.
10. It has to be recorded that the Church Authorities, [who own this Memorial], were contacted a few times over a period of 2 years and were completely unhelpful and uncooperative, and no empathy was shown, despite the fact a Faculty was issued.
11. This War Memorial had been missing for over 30 years.
12. The Memorial was re-located to St Mathews on the 6th November 2018, by Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council. Cost £2768. The plaque now has a light oak frame. The lettering is to be regilded.
13. The SGW has been destroyed. The Church was used in WW2.
Newspaper cuttings, photos or archival material
Photos: James Pasby; Kevin Stock
Diocese of Newcastle Faculty 1845 dated 31/03/1953
Newcastle Weekly Chronicle 09/04/1921 reports that a stone plaque would be erected
Tyne and Wear Museum Archive Office: Ward and Oakley architect plans Ref DT/WO/8/351 includes a scale drawing.
Source of quotation
“All you had hoped for” – verse from the hymn “O Valiant Hearts”.
Diocese of Newcastle Faculty 1845 dated 31/03/1953
Newcastle Weekly Chronicle 09/04/1921 reports that a stone plaque would be erected
Tyne and Wear Museum Archive Office: Ward and Oakley architect plans Ref DT/WO/8/351 includes a scale drawing.
Source of quotation
“All you had hoped for” – verse from the hymn “O Valiant Hearts”.
Research acknowledgements
Michael James; Mrs. L.E. Head; Patrick Easen; Dorothy Hall; Tyne and Wear Archive and Museum Service; James Pasby; Kevin Stock; Simon Parkin
Research In Progress
If you are researching this memorial please contact 2014@newmp.org.uk
Stained Glass Window and Plaque 1914-18 St. Wilfrid (NUT180)
This window is erected to the glory of God
and in loving memory of the men from this
Church and District who gave their lives in the
Great War 1914-1918
-----------------------------------------------
Left hand column
Pte. Charles Robert Anderson
Cpl. William Bell D.C.M.
Sgt. John James Beveridge
Pte. William Henry Bolam
“ Edward Bowman
“ Henry Buglass
“ John Bulman
“ John Burns
“ Thomas George Campbell
“ Robert Cobain
“ Ernest George Crawford
“ William Cummings
“ James Davidson
Cpl. James Edward Davidson
Pte. Francis Dinsdale
“ George Dodd
“ Leonard Victor Dodds
“ William Alexandra Dodds
“ James Dunbar
“ Albert Edward Edgar
“ John George Edgar
“ John Appleby Elliott
“ Frederick Forrest
“ Robert Lamb Brown Forrest
“ William Gibson
“ George Greenup
“ Thomas Jobson
“ Albert Jones
“ Thomas Young McMaster
“ John Robert McPherson
“ Malcolm McPherson
“ John Marshall
Cpl. John Ralph Masterman
Pte. Robert Reed
-----------------------------------------------
Right hand column
Capt. Arthur Warren Millard
Pte. James Miller
“ William Murthwaite
“ Robert Potts
“ John Alexander Purves
“ Alexander Reed
“ Charles George Reeder
“ Swan Ripsher
“ William Roach
“ Michael George Ruddy
“ Joseph Scott
“ William Waller Sharman
“ William Henry Sherwood
“ John Stephenson
“ Marcus Stern
L.Cpl. Philip Stern M.M.
Pte. Richard Spence Jary
“ John Taylor
“ James Tear
Cpl. John Thomas Thirlwell
Pte. Joseph Thompson
“ Hugh Trainer
Sgt. Stephen Trainor
Pte. George Turnbull
“ John William Tyson
“ George William Urwin
“ William Walton
2/Lt. John Frederick Watson
Cpl. Thomas Watson
Pte. Mark Weddell
“ Matthew Widdrington
“ Ralph Wilson
“ William Wombwell
All you had hoped for, all you had you gave
To save mankind – yourselves you scorned to save.
NamesNUT180
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Parish Notes
Every Name A Story
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