War Memorial

The war memorial, dating from 1905, stands in the centre of Galgate, Barnard Castle. It commemorates members of the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, the Imperial Yeomanry, and local volunteers attached to line regiments who died in South Africa during the Boer War (1899-1902). The memorial consists of a rough boulder of red granite resting on a large square plinth of pecked sandstone. The original base is a square block of rusticated sandstone, raised by the addition of a later base constructed of coursed sandstone. A metal plaque affixed to the front of the plinth bears the inscription “PRO PATRIA/IN MEMORY OF THE OFFICERS, NCOS AND MEN OF THE/3RD (MILITIA) BATT THE DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY/ THE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY AND LOCAL VOLUNTEERS ATTACHED TO THE LINE REGIMENTS/WHO DIED IN SOUTH AFRICA DURING THE BOER WAR/1899-1902.” A smaller plaque records that the memorial is situated within a garden of remembrance dedicated to those who fell in the Second World War. The memorial was unveiled on 27th July 1905 by Colonel V Grimshaw, and the town had historic links with the Durham Light Infantry. It is suggested that the memorial might not have been officially recognised, as there are two other Boer War memorials in Barnard Castle. Following the Second World War, a memorial garden was created around it, which may have prompted the re-positioning of the metal plaque and the raising of the memorial with the addition of a coursed sandstone base. War memorials of this type hold significant local and national historical and cultural value, and are relatively uncommon, justifying their designation.