Gateshead East Cemetery, Cross of Sacrifice

Unveiled 11th April 1924. A 21 feet high Cross of Sacrifice of Blomfield design with a bronze crusader's sword on the front of the cross. Octagonal plinth on a semi-circular platform. Maintained by the War Graves Commission. DESCRIPTION / STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The memorial is described as an Imperial Great War Cross, and was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It is dedicated to the soldiers and sailors buried in the cemeteries of Gateshead. The inscription reads: ‘TO THE HONOURED MEMORY OF/ ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY ONE SAILORS AND/ SOLDIERS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR/ THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1918/ OF WHOM ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT ARE/ BURIED IN EAST CEMETERY AND FIFTY THREE/ IN SALTWELL CEMETERY BOTH IN THE/ BOROUGH OF GATESHEAD./ THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE.’ A 21’ Darley Dale stone cross, featuring a fine bronze sword and standing on an 8 sided plinth, it was unveiled by Lieutenant-Colonel A Henderson CMG, the ex-commanding officer of the 9th DLI, and dedicated by Canon H S Stephenson, Rector. Each war memorial is, of course, of significance in itself, in commemorating the people who died in the local area, and whose family may well still live nearby. Perhaps what distinguishes this memorial, however, is its starkness, making a poignant statement of the loss of life it commemorates, and its loftiness, which makes it a landmark structure and thus conveys its message to a wide audience. MATERIALS Darley Dale stone, bronze DATES Unveiling 11/04/1924 LOCAL LIST