Celebrating Southwick's rich and colourful heritage - Sunderland FA Cup hero Jimmy Montgomery, Metric Martyr Steve Thoburn, ancient beginnings and tragic plane crash all remembered in new installation

Since forming in 2019, Southwick Village Green Preservation Society has made great strides in honouring and preserving the heritage of one of Wearside’s most ancient communities.

Work has included recognising the sacrifice of the hundreds of war dead from the village as well as a blue plaque trail which marks notable people and places in Southwick, including a plaque which records the origins of the village and its earliest mention in historical documents in 1072.

Now the society, which has 14 committee members, has unveiled its biggest project to date – a historical panel which has been installed at the west end of the Green in front of the Tram Car Inn.

One side features the story behind the 10 plaques on the blue plaque trail, while the other side depicts milestones and people from Southwick on Wear’s long history, such as Robert Thompson Junior who opened his shipyard in Southwick in 1854, miners, 1973 FA Cup hero Jimmy Montgomery and Metric Martyr Steve Thoburn and his famous fight to keep selling fruit and veg in imperial measures.

Peter Gibson, chairperson of Southwick Village Green Preservation Society, said: “This is our biggest project to date and it’s a great relief to see it finally in place, which wouldn’t have been possible without the kindness of the people of Southwick and the help of Sunderland City Council.

"Fundraising for the project actually began in May 2021 with a Space Hive Fundraiser which raised £1,000. The people of Southwick made donations on top of that and within 10 weeks we had £7,000, which is incredible and surpassed our target of £5,500. I was gobsmacked by the response to the fundraising.

"The people of Southwick sometimes get a bad press, but it’s a great community.”

He added: “The historical panel takes you back to the Bronze age, Medieval times and the Industrial Revolution, when Southwick grew from a hamlet into a township. My own family moved here in the 1850s to work in the bottleworks.

“I’ve been studying Southwick’s history for 40 years and it still fascinates me.”

Covid and the long process of planning permission delayed the project, but the panel is finally in situ at a height that is wheelchair and child friendly so it can be viewed by all.

The surplus funds for donations paid for soldier silhouettes to be installed at the other end of the Green to honour the war dead, as well as a blue plaque and Lest We Forget bunting at the Green Bean Cafe.

Other blue plaques installed as part of the society’s mission to honour the village’s history include plaques at Stoney Lane, Southwick Neighbourhood Youth Project (SNYP), Scots Bank, the Times Inn and on the Southwick Superstore and post office.

The latter plaque marks a tragedy which scarred the close-knit community when, in 1917, a Royal Flying Corps bi-plane crashed into the Co-op building at the side of the Green, killing five people. The youngest victim was just 11-years-old.