by Chris Lloyd | Darlington, In Your Town, Latest, People
ON January 12, 1918, two British warships were wrecked in a blizzard on rocks off the Orkneys. Of the 189 men on board, only one survived. Indeed, as the ships were smashed up by the seas, only 55 bodies could be recovered for burial. Following the report of the...
by Chris Lloyd | Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
ON the east bank of the River Skerne, there used to be a network of tight terraced streets with hundreds of homes that were cleared away in the late 1960s so the inner ring road could bulldoze through. Possibly the only survivor from the days of the terraces is a...
by Chris Lloyd | Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, Centenary, Chester-le-Street, Darlington, Durham, In Your Town, Latest
MORE than 50 memorials commemorating fallen soldiers across the region have been listed to mark the centenary of the First World War. As the country falls silent today (November 11) to honour Armistice Day and reflect on those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, war...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest, Peterlee
Romantic, caring, both brave and afraid… the wartime experiences of a County Durham soldier are revealed through a series of treasured postcards – many sent home from the Somme. Chris Lloyd tells Private Abraham Stewart’s story. UNDER a floorboard in...
by Chris Lloyd | Bishop Auckland, Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
WE are unlikely to ever see again the dedication to duty and bravery of the North-East brothers nicknamed The Fighting Bradfords, says playwright Carina Rodney about putting the story of the four First World War heroes on stage. The production about the medal-winning...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, Durham, In Your Town, Latest, Middlesbrough
A RELATIVE has revealed the fate of two soldiers captured in a rare photograph as they made their way to the Somme – where both would be casualties on the first day of that momentous battle. Jim Whitton of Darlington immediately recognised the image of his great uncle...
by Chris Lloyd | Darlington, In Your Town, Latest, People
Sergeant John Teasdale survived the Great War thanks to ‘a series of miracles’. His ‘vivid narrative’ of his experiences still chills to the bone. IN August 1915, the Darlington and Stockton Times published a lengthy account written by Sergeant...
by Chris Lloyd | Darlington, In Your Town, Latest, Newton Aycliffe, People
FOR 97 years, Private Edward Henry Pratt lay in an unmarked grave in Darlington’s West Cemetery. But on Wednesday, that wrong will be righted: this soldier of the First World War will be properly recognised when an official headstone is dedicated after brilliant work...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
A workshop focusing on Darlington’s role in the Great War will be held on Tuesday, June 23. As part of the Durham at War project, Darlington’s Crown Street Library will host a session encouraging researchers and historians to uncover the town’s wartime stories. All...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
A STUNNING red waterfall of knitted poppies is on display at a North-East museum following the completion of a mammoth commemorative project. Darlington’s Head of Steam Railway Museum spearheaded the drive to knit 2,236 poppies to represent each of the North Eastern...
by Chris Lloyd | Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
THE First World War changed the world for women completely. Suddenly, they were catapulted into factories, into trousers and onto the football field. This month’s exhibition in the Darlington Centre for Local Studies in the town centre library charts the changes which...
by Chris Lloyd | Darlington, In Your Town, Latest, People
A Christmas card begins the tale of one of Darlington’s sons, who became the first British soldier to die on the mainland in the First World War. Darlington, December 20, 1904 I hope you spend a HAPPY XMAS. I wish I was coming down to Clacton next summer but I...
by Chris Lloyd | Darlington, In Your Town, Latest, People
ON July 20, 1916, Captain Anthony Eden, the future Prime Minister, wrote from the First World War trenches to John Park, a grocer’s assistant of High Northgate, Darlington. “I have a tragic and at the same time a proud duty to perform in telling you all I can about...
by Chris Lloyd | Darlington, Latest
THE First World War has a terrible reputation for its industrial slaughter. Men were killed in their tens of thousands by new technology: by rapid fire machine guns or by bombs dropped from flying machines or by shells fired from the first “land...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
WITH medals glinting in the sun, veterans and those set to follow in their footsteps marched proudly to Darlington’s cenotaph this morning. Hundreds gathered in the autumn sun to watch a parade wind its way from the Holy Trinity Church to the cenotaph at Darlington...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
THE wartime experiences of communities across the Tees Valley are being commemorated with a moving performance. Outdoor, night-time spectacle Homecoming tells the story of the Tees Valley home front during the First World War. The performance – commissioned by a...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
The archives of a North-East museum are providing a fascinating insight into the railway workers who gave their lives to help the war effort. Vicki Henderson reports. THE heavy casualties sustained by the North Eastern Railway (NER) during the First World War are to...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
“DON’T put the men’s ranks on the memorial because they’re all my lads,” were the words of a headteacher in 1923. Mr J Broughton, the head at St John’s School, in Darlington, was speaking before the unveiling of a memorial plaque and roll of honour dedicated to former...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Stockton
IT was a chance to get away from home at the height of summer, but for the 27 cadets who took part, it was anything but a holiday. TWENTY-SEVEN teenagers from 405 (Darlington), 1869 (Middlesbrough) and 2394 (East Cleveland) squadrons could have had little idea what...
by Chris Lloyd | Centenary, Darlington, In Your Town, Latest
SCHOOL pupils paid tribute to those lost at war by launching an exhibition in their honour. Students from across Darlington commemorated the First World War by collaborating to create the exhibition, which opened at the Crown Street Library this evening (Thursday,...
