Smith's Dock Company War Memorial, Normanby, Teesville, Redcar and Cleveland

Summary

First World War memorial of 1922 with alterations after the Second World War and additions in 2011.

Description

First World War memorial of 1922 with alterations after the Second World War.

MATERIALS: Portland stone cenotaph with sandstone steps and flagstones.

PLAN: square plinth with two inset pilasters to form cruciform shape on a two-stepped base.

DESCRIPTION: the Smith’s Dock War Memorial stands at the head of a short avenue of yews in Smith’s Dock Park at the end of Smith’s Dock Road. The memorial takes the form of a stone plinth surmounted by a tapered, corniced cenotaph. The cenotaph is flanked by pilasters with reeded necking. At the top of the cenotaph is a carved wreath.

The front, south-west facing side of the memorial has an incised inscription, this reads 1914 - 1918 / TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN HONOUR OF THEIR COUNTRY / IN MEMORIAM / (NAMES) / 1939 - 1945 / TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN HONOUR OF THEIR COUNTRY / IN MEMORIAM / ERECTED BY SMITHS DOCK COMPANY LTD / IN MEMORY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES / FROM ALL DEPARTMENTS WHO / GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR / JULY 1922

There is a series of seven bronze plaques set at a slight angle in a stone surround on the ground in front of the war memorial. The first plaque is inscribed with TO THE / GLORY OF GOD / AND / THE HONOUR / OF THEIR / COUNTRY. The second to fifth plaques read IN MEMORIAM / 1914 – 1918 / (NAMES). The sixth plaque reads IN MEMORIAM / 1939 – 1945 / (NAMES). The seventh plaque reads (NAMES) / ERECTED BY / SMITH’S DOCK COMPANY LIMITED / IN MEMORY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES / FROM ALL DEPARTMENTS WHO GAVE / THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR / JULY 1922 / THIS CENOTAPH WAS REFURBISHED BY THE / FRIENDS OF SMITH’S DOCK PARK WAR MEMORIAL / JULY 2011.

The memorial stands on two sandstone steps, within a sandstone flagged area. The memorial area is reached by a flight of sandstone steps, flanked by a low plinth wall with short piers.

Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the C20 gated steel railings surrounding the sandstone flagged area are not of special architectural or historic interest.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England, as a result of both the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities, and the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

The Smith's Dock Company War Memorial commemorates 140 employees who died during the First World War. It was unveiled on Saturday 16 September 1922, by Vice-Admiral Sir Laurence E Power K C B, C V O, in the Smith’s Dock Company’s Recreation Park in Normanby. The dedication service was performed by the Rev H Robson of St John’s Church, South Bank. Following the ceremony, buglers from the Smith’s Dock’s Boy and Sea Scouts sounded the ‘Last Post’ and the Reveille. The hymn ‘For all the Saints’ was sung, accompanied by the Smith’s Dock’s Boys’ Band. The memorial was designed by Inigo Triggs of Unsworth and Triggs, London and erected by S Eastern Ltd of Newcastle.

Following the Second World War a dedication was added to commemorate the 39 employees who fell in that conflict. The memorial was refurbished in 2011, which included the addition of bronze plaques in front of the memorial.

Smith’s Dock Company was a British shipbuilding company that became associated with South Bank in Middlesbrough on the River Tees, after opening an operation there in 1907.

The memorial was one of three identical designs erected in the north-east by the Smith’s Dock Company to honour its fallen employees. These were placed in Smith’s Dock Company’s Recreation Parks in Normanby, Middlesbrough as well as West Park, North Shields and Harton Recreation Park, South Shields. The memorials in North and South Shields were unveiled in July of 1922, with the parks being opened on the same day as the unveiling of the memorials. The memorial in West Park is listed at Grade II (1025346). The memorial that stood in South Shields was removed when the park was sold in 1925, and its whereabouts are now unknown.

Inigo Triggs (1876-1923) was an architect and garden designer. He was born in Chiswick, the son of a carpet manufacturer. He takes his name from the C17 architect Inigo Jones, from whom he was descended. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools and was admitted as a member of RIBA in 1899. He studied and wrote books on architecture, garden design and city planning. His works influenced the Arts and Crafts style. In 1908 Triggs joined the practice of William Unsworth and eventually became a partner in this firm. In 1919 The Whiteley Homes Trust employed him to plan and supervise the landscaping of Whiteley Village in Surrey, a model settlement village. Triggs also designed the Canadian military cemetery in Bramshott, Hampshire.

Reasons for Listing

Smith’s Dock Company War Memorial, which stands in the Smith’s Dock Park, of 1922 with Second World War additions is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a well-designed cenotaph memorial, in Portland stone, displaying good quality craftsmanship in the finely carved detailing.

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Group value:

* originally one of a group of three identical memorials built to honour the fallen workers of Smith's Dock Company, it possesses group value with the other surviving and listed memorial in West Park.

External Links

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