The story of the Washington war memorial visited by a US president and some of the soldiers remembered

On Saturday, June 5, 1920 Lord Lambton, the third Earl of Durham who had served in the Durham Light Infantry, formally unveiled the monument after four years of planning and fundraising from the Washington Welcome Home and Memorial Committee.

The plinth and cross monument still stands today as it did when it was unveiled. It bears the names of 179 casualties from World War One, plus another six that were added later.

Further names were inscribed onto the shaft following later conflicts. These are 101 Washington casualties from World War Two, two from the 1982 Falklands War, two from the Gulf wars of 1991 and 2003, and seven from the 2001-14 war in Afghanistan.

This is a total of 297 names of personnel from Washington who lost their lives while serving their country. But they aren’t just names, every one of them represents a life and a story.

The most recent name is that of Sapper Richard Walker of the 28 Engineer Regiment, who was killed by the Afghan National Army in Helmand province in 2013, aged 23.

Other names among the more recently added are those of Lance Corporal Sean Tansey, accidentally killed aged 26 while serving in 2006 with the Household Cavalry and Private Damien Jackson of the Parachute Regiment, who died of injuries following a firefight. He was four days short of his 20th birthday. Both men were serving in Helmand.

Millitary Policeman Corporal Simon Miller, from Washington, was one of six men who died when a mob attacked a police station they had been posted to in Iraq, in June 2003. He was just 21.

The memorial is more than just the monument. It is made up of the whole of Washington Village’s western green, which has continued to grow in the 100 years since it was formally unveiled.

Leading up to the monument’s centenary, the Mayor of Sunderland, Councillor David Snowdon, paid tribute.

He said: “Washington and Barmston Memorial Park is still an important part of the community 100 years after it was first unveiled.

“It serves as a tribute to the Washington residents who gave up their lives for their country and gives people in the community a place they can go to reflect and pay their respects, which is just as important now as it was back in 1920.

“While we cannot come together in person to celebrate this important 100th anniversary, I would encourage the people of Sunderland to take a moment to remember the 297 people named on the memorial who gave their lives fighting for their country.”

The memorial has seen a number of changes since it was first erected. It memorial was enclosed with railings and a shelter and clock were erected; although all the ironwork was removed during World War Two as part of the war effort.

In 1986 the memorial and railings were restored, with the names on the plinth re-cut.

For 100 years the Green has hosted numerous events in the village.

These include Remembrance Day commemorations, the War Weapons Week in 1941, folk festivals, Christmas Fayres and War Weapons Week in 1941 which was a drive to encourage people to save in War Bonds and other Government schemes to help Britain re-arm in the fight against the Nazis.

Most famously, trees were planted there in 1977 by Prime Minister James Callaghan and US President Jimmy Carter.

In 2014 further restoration took place and three ground plaques were placed behind the cross, and The Washington Village in Bloom Group added railings round the now mature Callaghan and Carter trees. In 2018 the Group added the “Kneeling Tommy” silhouette.

Regrettably, social distancing means the centenary can’t be marked as it would otherwise have been. But we can still spare a thought, which after all is the whole point of a memorial.

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