South Shields war memorial

The South Shields war memorial, dedicated to those who served in the First and Second World Wars, was completed in 1926 based on designs by J H Morton and sculpted in Portland stone by William Robertson Cliff of South Shields.

Located at the intersection of two main roads, the memorial features a tall and slim Latin cross with expanded terminals and moulded intersections, standing 25 feet (7.62 meters) high. It is adorned with a bronze crusader sword on both the front and back, and has a rope moulding at the base of the shaft. The structure is elevated on two steps, which sit atop a pedestal, and this pedestal is further raised on a four-stepped octagonal platform.

A bronze plaque on the pedestal has a raised decorated border with lettering in raised Roman capitals, which 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." Adjacent to the plaque, the dates "1914-1918" and "1939-1945" are incised onto the stone faces.

Additionally, one of the step risers features the details of the unveiling, which states: "UNVEILED BY/ SIR JAMES READHEAD BART/ 28TH FEBRUARY 1928."