“Once more the ocean cried”

Faramir leaves the Tyne

The yacht Faramir leaving the River Tyne and on her way to the North Sea

“This company will return one day
Though we feel your tears
Its the price we pay
For there’s prizes to be taken
And glory to be found
Cut free the chains
Make fast your souls
We are Eldorado bound
I will take you
For always, forever, together
Until hell calls our names

Who’ll drink a toast with me
To the devil and the deep blue sea
Gold drives a man to dream

Taken from “Pirates” (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer)

Picture taken at Coble Landing, South Shields

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History in stone

Revd. James Jeremy Taylor

We can learn so much from the graveyards and cemetaries, our forebears buried their dead they had no nice clinical cremators, and their masons and stonesmiths left many stories behind them, etched and carved in sandstone, granites and marble. Our oldest municipal cemetary is in Westoe, it was there when South Shields and Westoe were two separate places connected only by a bridlepath, and it is here that the early allumnii of South Shields are buried, shipowners lie side by side with doctors, landowners, shipbuilders, collierymen, and of course servicemen too.

Some of South Shields most famous names are buried here, we named streets and parks after them as the town grew and developed, names like Readhead, Imeary, Salmon, George Potts, and Winterbottom too.

Here we find the grave of the Reverend James Jeremy Taylor M.A. priest at St. Mary, Eldon Street who died in 1893 aged 63 years. He was installed as the priest of the Tyne Dock parish church in 1860 and during his time serving his congregation of (mainly) shipyard workers, he lost his son Charles Wentworth aged one year, a daughter Constance Francis aged 9 weeks, and his wife Esther aged 43 years. This man’s fortitude and courage ensured that he stayed in South Shields, despite the hardships at that time, to complete his mission and he died in post in 1893.

His is not the only sad tale to be told in Westoe Cemetary, and the rapid growth of industry and townships was not accompanied by a similar growth in public health until many years later, John Readhead the builder of many ships at his family’s yard in Commercial Road, South Shields saw most of his children buried before his wife and he reached the end of their lives.

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Sign here

The Wedding

This is the final picture from the inside of South Shields Town Hall for now. In recent years (since a change in regulations) licensed registrars have been able to visit the Town Hall to conduct marriage ceremonies. Here, the happy couple sign the register, signifying a contract between each other.

The window has had a little help from Photoshop.

2VC’s

The Victoria Cross

Two sculptures by Roger Andrews have been placed in niches on either side of the main staircase in South Shields Town Hall earlier this month, they commemorate the awarding of the Victoria Cross to two of South Tyneside’s military heroes who showed immense bravery under fire during the last two great wars. The money to pay for these tributes was raised by public subscription and the popular feeling is that the artist has portrayed the men faithfully.

Capt. Richard “Dicky” Annand (pictured left) won the Army’s first Victoria Cross of the Second World War when serving with the 2nd Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, and Private Thomas Young (pictured right) won his VC when in March 1918, after an offensive near Arras, he returned time and again to no-man’s-land to rescue nine men lying wounded in shell craters.

Annand spent most of his life living in South Shields and was a resident of Westoe Village before moving to the City of Durham where he died aged 90 in 2004. Thomas Young was from Boldon and died in Whickham aged 71 in 1966.

The bronze statues are just about life size at around six feet tall each and face visitors as they enter the Town Hall.

The Victoria Cross is the highest award for gallantry in the British military structure and each medal is cast from bronze from two guns of Russian (or Chinese) origin captured during the Crimean War.

You can read about the history of the Victoria Cross here.

You can see a larger image here.

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Authority

The Mace

This is the Mayoral Mace belonging to South Tyneside Metropolitan District Council, it historically symbolises the power and authority of the Mayor under the Crown. It is placed in front of the Mayor at every meeting of the Borough Council.