Thornaby War Memorial

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THORNABY ACKLAM ROAD (Off) Thornaby War Memorial

30-AUG-07

II First World War Memorial with Second World War additions unveiled in 1921.

MATERIALS: constructed of Portland stone with Granite panels and sited within a metal enclosure.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial takes the form of an imposing Cenotaph with corner buttresses carved into acanthus leaves and each side bears a carved laurel in relief surrounding a cross. The memorial is surmounted by a large rectangular block bearing a carved stone sarcophagus. The incised inscriptions read as follows: West face: on upper block /THIS MEMORIAL WAS ERECTED/BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION /IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF/THE MEN OF THORNABY-ON-TEES/WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE /GREAT WAR 1914-1918. Followed by (Names) on main body of cenotaph and /THESE ARE THE NAMES THAT MUST NOT WITHER/ East face: (Names) /THEY ANSWERED THEIR COUNTRY'S CALL/ North face (Names) /GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS/ South face: (Names) /IS IT NOTHING TO ALL THEE THAT PASS BY/ The memorial is situated within a metal, gated enclosure with the words LEST WE FORGET above the round-headed gateway.

SOURCES:

HISTORY: This war memorial was erected by public subscription and was unveiled on July 28th 1921 by Colonel Spence, preceded by a procession of DLI units, dignitaries and bands. The names of the fallen of the Second World War have been added. Additional polished granite panels have been added to the memorial in recent years to allow the addition of extra names including members of the Merchant Marine.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: Thornaby War Memorial is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

• It is an eloquent witness to the impact of tragic world events on this community
• The materials, design and sculptural quality of this cenotaph is of a high order.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 7 February 2017.