South Tyneside Remembers World War One

South Tyneside Remembers commemorates the lives of the men and women from South Tyneside who served during World War 1. It includes not only those who died but also the people who survived.

South Tyneside is made up of the towns South Shields (including Tyne Dock, Harton and Westoe), Jarrow, Hebburn and Boldon (including East Boldon, West Boldon and Boldon Colliery) and the villages Cleadon, Monkton and Whitburn.

In 1914-1918 these places were all part of County Durham.

These pages are intended for use by people carrying out family research, those looking for information about their World War 1 relatives and by people carrying out research on the period. It has been designed so that it can be understood by everybody including people who have had no previous experience of either military or family history.

The South Tyneside Remembers website has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund projects. All of the information it contains has been researched and input by volunteers and staff at South Tyneside Libraries.

The inspiration for the original bid was the James Hoy Archive which was compiled by Mr Peter Hoy who, having carried out much of his original research in the library, approached us to ask if it was possible for us to create a website from the information.

The South Tyneside Remembers volunteers meet weekly to research the lives and the military history of men and women from South Tyneside using resources such as Ancestry, Find My Past, Commonwealth War Graves Commission and North East War Memorials Project websites.

The website was designed and will be maintained and developed by South Tyneside Council's Web Team.

Information was input by South Tyneside Remembers volunteers, volunteers from the DWP as part of their Project 10,000 and by library staff.

Our research has shown that every person has as valuable story to tell about their involvement in World War One. It is our intention that this website stands as a fitting memorial to them.

More than 7000 people have currently been identified for inclusion on the website and new records are being added daily. The records are being input randomly so that no surname, town, regiment, monument or roll of honour is given preference. We hope to eventually develop the largest database of its kind for a local area, with potentially 13,000 individuals included, and that it will prove an invaluable tool for research.

All of the information on the website has been researched using publicly accessible records including those on Ancestry, Find My Past, Common Wealth War Graves Commission and North East War Memorials Project websites. We have also referred to the Shields Gazette and the Jarrow Express newspapers which contain much contemporary information.

Ancestry and Find My Past are subscription websites but are free to use at all of South Tyneside libraries and many other public libraries (please check your local library for information). Both of these websites contain copies of original documents including censuses and military attestation papers.

It is worth noting that many military documents were lost during the Second World War when the archive where they were being stored was bombed. Unfortunately this means that the records for many of the men who served during the First World War were destroyed. If the information about your relative on this website does not contain military information it means that we have been unable to find the record and that it probably no longer exists.

Work is continuing on the website. Please look out for further developments.

For more information about the project, see About the project.

1. Go to World War 1 records search
2. Type in your relative's surname and a list of possible matches will appear
3. Click on view record and the information about your relative will appear
4. If your relative has a Commonwealth War Grave or is mentioned on a local memorial or roll of honour, click on the underlined link to take you to the relevant page on either the Commonwealth War Grave Commission  or North East War Memorial Project website

If you can't find a relative

If you can't find your South Tyneside relative please contact us.

If your relative has already been researched we will add them to the website as soon as we are able.

We will also carry out research about people from South Tyneside who we're not currently aware of for inclusion on the website.

We are sorry but we will not be able to carry out research for or include anybody on the website who does not have a link to South Tyneside (i.e. was born or lived here).

Where the Cherry Trees Were

"Where the Cherry Trees Were" is the story of one church in South Shields and its community, people who live and worked on Tyneside, in days long gone.

At the heart of the story are the horrific years of the Great War and its devastating consequences.

The author, Patricia Rigg, is a member of South Tyneside Remembers WW1 group at South Tyneside libraries, and used the original church magazines, 1908-1918, in her research. 

The magazines provide a wealth of information, from everyday church life to the St Thomas' men and boys who fought for "God, King and Country" in the most appalling conditions.

St Thomas' Church Memorial poem: Where The Cherry Trees Were

Volunteers meet at Cleadon Park Library, 2-4pm every Monday afternoon to carry out research and to add information to the website.

Please come along if you are interested in taking part. Contact us if you are not available at this time.

We are available for talks and school visits.

The first three medals when awarded together were affectionately known as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.

1914 Star (Mons Star) (Pip)

This medal was issued to those who had served in France or Belgium between 5 August 1914 and midnight on 22 November 1914.

The 1914-15 Star (Pip)

The 1914-15 Star was awarded to all who served in any theatre of war against Germany between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915, except those eligible for the 1914 Star.

British War Medal (Squeak)

The silver or bronze medal was awarded to officers and men of the British and Imperial Forces who served in the forces between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. This was later extended to services in Russia, Siberia and some other areas in 1919 and 1920. The recipient's service number, rank, name and unit was impressed on the rim

Allied Victory Medal (Wilfred)

To qualify for the Victory Medal recipients had to have entered a theatre of war between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. The recipient's service number, rank, name and unit was impressed on the rim.

All recipients of 1914-1915 Star also received both the British War Medal and the Victory Medal and in the main all recipients of the Victory Medal also received a British War Medal.

Women could also receive these medals for service in nursing homes and other auxiliary forces.

Silver War Badge

The badge was originally issued to officers and men who were discharged or retired from the military forces as a result of sickness or injury caused by their war service. The recipient would also receive a certificate with the badge. The badge was made of Sterling silver and was intended to be worn on the right breast of a recipient's civilian clothing.

Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)

The Distinguished Conduct Medal, was awarded for exceptional acts of bravery in the field by other ranks of the British Army.

Military Cross (MC)

The Military Cross was awarded to commissioned officers for acts of bravery.

Military Medal (MM)

The Military Medal was awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land.

Victoria Cross (VC)

The Victoria Cross is the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that is awarded to members of the British armed forces. It may be awarded posthumously. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service. There were three recipients of the Victoria Cross from South Tyneside during World War 1, Henry Howey Robson, Thomas Morrell Young and Joseph Collin.

Memorial Plaque

The memorial plaque was issued after World War 1 to the next-of-kin of all British and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war. They were made of bronze and were known as the Dead Man's Penny because of their resemblance to a pre-decimal penny coin.

Bars

A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a medal to show the campaign the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the recipient has met the criteria for receiving the medal in multiple campaigns. When used in conjunction with decorations for exceptional service, such as gallantry medals, the term "and bar" means that the award has been bestowed multiple times.

Work on the website is continuing and it will be developed further in the coming years. Please check regularly for new features.

The areas for development are set out below:

More records

We are continuing to research and input information about people from South Tyneside for inclusion on the website.

Links

Work is continuing to add links to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and North East War Memorials website where they are required.

Photographs

We will be adding photographs of individual soldiers to the website. These have largely been gathered from newspaper reports from the Shields Gazette and the Jarrow Express.

If you have a photograph of your relative that you would like to add to their record on this website please contact us.

Maps

We will be adding a map of South Tyneside which shows where those who served lived.

Features and stories

We will be regularly including features and stories about individuals, regiments campaigns which we have discovered during our research.

Please contact us if:

• you have additional information about any of the people who appear on the website, including photographs and documents
• you have a relative from South Tyneside who served during WW1 who does not already appear on the website
• you notice any errors in the information*
• you wish to use any of the information on the website for research purpose
• you are interested in volunteering as part of the project

*Whilst every effort has been made during research and inputting to ensure that the information contained in this website is as accurate as possible, we are aware that there will be some mistakes. We will be happy to rectify these.

Local and Family History
The Word
45 Market Place
South Shields
Tyne and Wear
NE33 1JF

Tel: 0191 427 1818
Email: ww1@southtyneside.gov.uk

Or you get in touch with us online by using the form below.

WW1 get in touch form

Below are links to two websites which contain useful and interesting information about people from South Tyneside who were involved in World War 1:

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• North East War Memorials Project

Please note, links are being added over time and do not currently appear on all of the pages where they are needed

Other useful websites

North East

• Durham at War
• Northumbria World War 1 Commemoration Project

National

• Imperial War Museum, Lives of the First World War
• Prisoners of the First World War
• British Red Cross: First World War
• The Western Front Association

Family History

In our research we have used the following subscription websites. These websites are free to use at any South Tyneside Library.

Please check your local library for availability if you live outside of South Tyneside.

• Ancestry
• Find My Past
• The British Newspaper Archive

We are very grateful to the following. This website would not have been possible without them:

• South Tyneside Remembers Volunteers
• Heritage Lottery Fund
• South Tyneside Libraries
• The Web Team at South Tyneside Council
• DWP and the Project 10,000 volunteers
• Community Arts Project North East (CAPNE)
• North East War Memorials Project (NEWMP)
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWCG)
• Peter Hoy and the James Hoy Archive who got us started.

With special thanks to Ken who has dedicated much of his life over the past few years to researching the project and who has tracked down men we didn't think we would ever be able to find.