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The Cenotaph / War Memorial
| Located alongside the Parish Church is the Stockton on Tees War Memorial. The site is visible from the busy town centre and backs onto the Church and old churchyard. Whilst adjacent to the everyday life of the town, it is yet retired enough to suggest peace and rest. |  |
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The Memorial
The memorial is built of Portland Stone and rests on a reinforced concrete foundation, raised upon three steps and a stone seat (or base) for the display of wreaths. Over this is a plain podium having a bronze panel on its front containing the words:-
The names of the fallen are inscribed in the book of remembrance laid up in the adjoining church.
At a meeting of the Borough Council on the 16th March 1920, the then Mayor (Alderman John McNaughton) received a report about the desirability of erecting a War Memorial worthy of the men it sought to immortalise and likewise worthy of the town. A committee was formed and subscriptions by public appeal were invited.
The committee also sought the advice of the leading architects in London to advise them of the best possible site and for the design to be adopted. Mr H. V. Lanchester, F.R.I.B.A., M.T.P.I and his firm were appointed advisers and architects to the committee.
Messrs Fenning and Co of London began work on the erection of the memorial on site on 7th November 1922.
The total subscriptions received were approx £12,000 - the cost of the memorial and purchase of adjoining land was £7,500 - leaving in the remainder of the fund some £4,500 which was used to promote the further education of such children of the fallen men as show indications of ability.
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Unveiling the Memorial
The War memorial was unveiled at a Civic Ceremony at 3pm on the 31st May 1923.
Sir Frank Brown, Chairman of the War Memorial Committee invited the Mayor of Stockton, (R Tyson Hodgson) to accept on behalf of the town, the memorial to be kept for the inhabitants for all time.
The Mayor then called upon The Earl of Durham, The Lord Lieutenant for County Durham to unveil the memorial.
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The Unveiling Continued
The Earl of Durham duly unveiled the memorial and the Last Post was sounded. After singing the anthem Souls of the Righteous the Vicar of Stockton, Rev E. A. Douglas invited the assembled dignitaries and townspeople in prayer
We give Thee thanks O Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God, for all those thy servants who waxed valiant in fight, and counting not their life dear to themselves, laid it down for their friends. We pray Thee that having fought a good fight, and finished their course, they may rejoice evermore with them that have come out of great tribulation, and having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lam, stand before Thy Throne and serve Thee day and night for ever; through Him that overcame and is set down in thy Throne, Jesus Christ our lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost now and ever.
Amen
After further prayers, the Bishop of Durham, Herbert Hensley Henson, gave a short address and the Book of Remembrance was dedicated. This book is not kept in the Parish Church.
After singing of For all the Saints, the blessing was pronounced by the Bishop of Durham. A silence was then followed by singing of the National Anthem and the memorial was dedicated
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The memorial as it is now
 The war memorial was originally dedicated amongst others to the officers and men of the 5th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry [DLI] who fell in the Great War.
A further modification was made after the Second World War to add a reference to the 1939-45 conflict.
The 5th Battalion of the DLI was raised in Stockton and was the only battalion in the DLI to have a war memorial in its own Parish Church. It is also the only battalion of the regiment to have laid up its colours in its Parish Church; all of the other battalions have theirs in Durham Cathedral.
On Remembrance Sunday 1999 (14th November), Councillor Jean Kitchen, Stockton Council's Mayor unveiled two additional plaques at the base of the memorial. The plaques honour local people who have died as a result of warfare. The plaque nearest the church is dedicated -
In remembrance of the people of the Borough of Stockton-On-Tees who have died on active duty in the service of their country other than in the First and Second World Wars.
Whilst the other plaque is dedicated -
In remembrance of all civilians who died in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees as a result of armed conflict.
The Mayor, said: - "I am very honoured to be involved in this ceremony. It seems fitting to unveil the plaques on Remembrance Sunday so we can pay tribute to all those people from Stockton who lost their lives during conflict."
Mrs Vout, from Stockton, had originally contacted the Council to raise the issue of those civilians who had died in Stockton during warfare. She has been invited by the Mayor to attend the ceremony. She has written a book on the Dennison Street area of Stockton, mainly dealing with the bombings that took place there during the war in 1941.
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H V Lanchester
H. V. Lanchester (1863-1953) received the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1934 and it’s Distinction in Town Planning not long thereafter. These awards recognized his varied and productive career in both fields. He and two partners in 1898 won the competition for their designs of a new City Hall and Law Courts in Cardiff, part of a larger civic centre project. Several other successful competition entries followed over the years as did direct commissions for such major structures as churches, university halls, hospitals, research centres, and a number of housing estates.
Lanchester's strong interest in planning led to lecturing on civic design at University College, London and as an external examiner of this subject for the University of Liverpool from 1910 to 1912 during which years he also edited The Builder. He was among the founding members of the Town Planning Institute. In 1912 he served as a consultant on the design of New Delhi, and while in India he also prepared a plan for the city of Madras. He worked in other Indian cities as well, both as a planner and as the architect of important buildings. His writings on planning include The Art of Town Planning, Talks on Town Planning, and a book on his experience in Madras and Zanzibar whose plan he also prepared, Town Planning in Madras & Zanzibar.
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