West Hartlepool War Memorial or Victory Square War Memorial or Victoria Square Cenotaph''West Hartlepool War Memorial 1914 – 1919: Unveiling & Dedication.'' Hartlepool Central Library: 22 page digital copy (pdf) of the ''West Hartlepool War Memorial 1914 – 1919: Invitation to the unveiling of the War Memorial in 1923'', Order of Service, and Unveiling & Dedication, shelved at Reference 940.465. 1923. Bib Id 300313. is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

, County Durham, England commemorating those from

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed in ...

who died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.''War Memorial in Victory Square, Hartlepool.''
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 4 September 2012. The war memorial, created in the 1920s, is located on Victoria Road in Hartlepool's Victory Square. The square was created for this monument.

Victory Square

There was much deliberation about the selection of the site for the memorial or

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

. The idea was for the war memorial to be placed in a

public square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

, which would face municipal buildings on the north side and be balanced with public buildings on the south side. Victory Square, a large area in the center of town, was established for that purpose. The mayor of

from 1915 to 1917, Alderman Charles Macfarlane, introduced the idea of using land already designated for municipal buildings, previously "The Armoury Field", for a World War I memorial. Later approved at a public meeting, the cost was estimated at £150,000. It was also proposed that housing be created for seniors and the disabled as a related project. Donations came in for Cottage Homes "in connection with the war memorial", such as that by J. W. Crosby, partner in one of the towns shipping firms, Crosby, Magee & Co. who gave £5.000.

World War I Memorial

The high

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

monument made of grey Aberdeen granite and bronze sits on a pedestal.

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...

s are located at the top of the monument on each side. Another wreath is situated near the bottom with the town

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

and the motto "E Mare ex Industria" ("Industry comes from the Sea"). There are also bronze wreaths on the pedestal. The

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

, with

cyma Cyma may refer to either: * An S-shaped decorative molding, used in the cymatium of Greek architecture * CYMA – Canadian Youth Mission to Armenia, a Canadian-run humanitarian program * CYMA (software), accounting packages * Cyma Watches, a Swiss ...

-moulding, sits on a wide, five terraced base; the five steps symbolise the number of years of World War I.''West Hartlepool War Memorial.''
North East War Memorials Project. Retrieved 4 September 2012.Edwards, Martin (6 December 2005)

Roll of Honour. Retrieved 4 September 2012. There are a total of 1545 names to commemorate those from World War I.''Men and Women of Hartlepool.''
United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials (UKNIWM). Retrieved 4 September 2012. The twelve bronze panels honour the 1548 townsmen belonging to 75 different units of the Army,

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. A competition for the memorial design was managed by architect Ernest Newton, RA, who was then President of

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

. The winner was George J Coombs of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. Coombs' design was apparently complete by 1921, when he died, and his plans were carried out by George Bennett Mitchell, Vice-President of the Institute of Scottish Architects. The memorial was built by D. G. Somerville and Company of London and A Fyfe and Son. It was cast at H. H. Martyn and Company. It is classified as a grade II monument. On 11 October 1923 the memorial was to be unveiled by the

Earl of Durham Earl of Durham is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1833 for the Whig politician and colonial official John Lambton, 1st Baron Durham. Known as "Radical Jack", he played a leading role in the passing of the Gre ...

(

Frederick Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham Frederick William Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham (19 June 1855 – 31 January 1929) was a British peer, a Liberal (and later Liberal Unionist) politician, and the son of George Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham. He inherited the Earldom from his twin brot ...

), but he fell ill and his brother,

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Charles Lambton performed the unveiling. It was dedicated by the

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

Inscriptions

The north elevation bears the arms of West Hartlepool within a wreath. Located on the top of the obelisks' pedestal is the leading inscription "The Great War 1914–1919" followed by the inscription derived from the

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

's message to the next of kin of the dead of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

In grateful remembrance of the men of this town who at their country's call left all that was dear to them to hazard their lives that others might live in freedom. Their name liveth for evermore.

The southern elevation contains the words "THINE O LORD / IS THE VICTORY" surmounted by a cross.

World War II pillars

After the end of

, four high white

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

pillars were added near the Victory Square obelisk to commemorate those who lost their lives during that war. Each of the four-sided pillars is mounted with a bronze plaque containing the name of the fallen. A tree was planted between each of the pillars. The pillars were unveiled by Father David Coxon of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Reverend Tony Whipp of St. Aidan's Church and, representing Seafarers, Ken Cornford.''Pillars 1939 & later Victory Square.''
North East War Memorials Project. Retrieved 7 September 2012.

Memorial responsibility

The responsibility for maintenance and upkeep of the memorial resides with the

Hartlepool Borough Council The Borough of Hartlepool is a unitary authority area in ceremonial County Durham, England. The borough's largest town is Hartlepool. It borders the County Durham district as well as the boroughs of Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees ...

's Neighborhood Services department. In 2008 restoration work was completed to clean and restore the stonework and plaques, which included resolving staining of the

patina Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze and similar metals and metal alloys (tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes) or certain stones and wooden furniture (sheen produced b ...

.''Central Neighbourhood Consultative Forum Agenda – 4 December 2008.''
Hartlepool Borough Council. Retrieved 9 September 2012.''Central Neighbourhood Consultative Forum Agenda – 16 February 2006.''
Hartlepool Borough Council. Retrieved 9 September 2012.

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

West Hartlepool War Memorial (detailed information and photograph)The Armoury, Victoria Road / War Memorial
– Forum 3 January 2010 * Maps
Satellite view of the memorial
** Map that shows both Hartlepool memorial
Map with: A = West Hartlepool WM – B = Redheugh Gardens WM
* Images

West Hartlepool War Memorial

The Armoury, Victoria Road, c. 1930War Memorials Trust
British military memorials and cemeteries Buildings and structures in Hartlepool Buildings and structures completed in 1923 World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England Monuments and memorials in County Durham Grade II listed buildings in County Durham