We are conscious that, within St Catherine's
Church, Crook, we care for several War Memorials of varying types. Do you realize how many we have, and who they
commemorate?
How did War Memorials develop, and why?
While in the Wear Valley area we have several
examples of Boer War, and even earlier, War Memorials, it was the Great War
which was the prime catalyst for the development of local Memorials.
The Great War caused massive social upheaval. It lasted for over four years - including
action in Russia in 1919; many men, and women, were killed or maimed. Women in Britain took over men's jobs; their
contribution helped them to win the vote.
The early practice of the Army recruiting locally for "Pals Battalions"
meant that some relatively small communities were hard hit by the scale of casualties,
especially from France and Flanders, the Middle East and the Dardanelles.
The Government refused to bring bodies home; the
rich tried to bring bodies back, the poor couldn't, so none were allowed to be returned. But neither could the poor visit foreign
cemeteries or Memorials. People overcome
bereavement, in part, by burying or cremating their dead, a process which was thereby
denied to everybody with a family casualty.
The erection of local War Memorials was a
Government-inspired initiative which offered something concrete to focus on. Their 1923 Act allowed local authorities to
levy a small rate towards costs and maintenance, a power they still hold. But local people decided for themselves what
form their Memorials would take.
Local War Memorials became surrogate tombstones,
which people could visit and pay their respects; the unveiling ceremonies became
substitute funeral services, the annual wreath-laying a continuing remembrance
of loss.
Not all Memorials are in the open, or even in
Churches. In those impoverished times, some
communities erected Memorials aimed at serving the living: hospitals, village
halls, playing fields. Other choices
were Church furnishings, birdbaths, rolls of honour, boats, plaques, annuities,
libraries, clocks, school prizes, houses, gardens - the variety is astonishing!
Listing those names to be recorded on War Memorials
is not an exact science. Those who moved
away, or wanted to get on with life, or hoped their men would return, often didn't
offer names for inclusion on Memorials. Some
casualties were orphans, with no-one to put their name forward. Others, by contrast, had their name commemorated
on Memorials in several places, - Parish Church, Chapel, School, place of work,
Club, or they had an individual dedication, such as on a seat by the sea, or a
window in this Church.
Those with immediate knowledge of casualties named
on World War Memorials are themselves passing into history. War Memorials are evolving into another role
- that of reminding us of what happens when the world goes to war.
Their message for us today is "Lest We Forget".
The North East War Memorials Project aims to
record and document every War Memorial "between Tweed and Tees" Their database, intended to be a respectful
remembrance of the sacrifice of those from pre-1974 Durham, Northumberland and
Newcastle can be accessed here, and is searchable by name and place. The Website also contains guidance on how to
research War Memorials. The Project
Group welcomes additional information about the Memorials, and those commemorated
on them, and is happy to host personal research about casualties on the
Website.
John Dixon