Newcastle Daily Chronicle, Wednesday April 4 1923 (page 7) reported:
'BLAYDON'S HUMAN TRIBUTE. Memorial to Its 300 Dead TO BE UNVEILED BY MISS COWEN ON SATURDAY.
Saturday next will be a memorable day in the story of Blaydon’s patriotism during and after the great war. At three o'clock Miss Cowen of Stella Hall will unveil the local war memorial, this being, as it were, the district’s ultimate expression of admiration and reverence for the men who served their King and country in the years that were but yesterday and yet are rapidly receding into the mists of history. Fifteen hundred men joined the colours from Blaydon, and 300 of them made the supreme sacrifice. It is to honour the dead that the memorial has been promoted a very beautiful monument it is. It has been erected in Blaydon Cemetery, which is mid-way between Swalwell and Blaydon, and is constructed entirely of granite, being 17 feet high. The pillar is surmounted by the figure of a soldier - a very impressive piece of work. The memorial has cost about £1000, half of which been contributed by Miss Cowen and Colonel Joseph Cowen, who have ever been generous supporters of all good objects in the neighbourhood. Mr Rutter Carr, who has been prominently identified with every war fund in Blaydon, is of the Memorial Committee, just as he was chairman of the Soldiers’ Comforts Committee and the Welcome Home Committee. Mr W. Dodd and Mr E. F. Farrow are the hon secretaries to the War Memorial, and apart from substantial gifts towards it by Miss Cowen and Col. Cowen, it has been well supported by all sections of the community. Programme for Unveiling Ceremony. The unveiling ceremony is being looked forward to with much local interest. There will be a military procession leaving the Drill Hall at 2.30 and headed by the band of the 4th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers; while a civil procession, accompanied by the Salvation Army Band, will leave Garden Terrace at 2.45. These processions will unite at the foot of Winlaton Bank, and then proceed to the cemetery by Shibdon Road. On their arrival at the memorial, the Rev J. G. Soulsby will give the hymn, "O God our Help in Ages Past,” which will be accompanied by the Fusiliers’ Band. Mr Rutter Carr, as chairman of the gathering, will introduce Miss Cowen to unveil the memorial. This ceremony will be followed by a dedicatory prayer by the Rev. E.V. Simpkinson, M.A/, Rector of Stella St Cuthberts.
After platoon fire, the "Last Post" will be sounded, and then there will be a brief interval silence to be followed by Reveille. After a general salute, Colonel Andrew Henderson, C.M.G., T.D., will deliver an address, and immediately afterwards Colonel Joseph Cowen will place a wreath on the memorial on behalf of the committee. Relatives and friends of the fallen men will also lay wreaths at the foot of the monument. After the singing of hymn "Nearer my God to Thee", led by the Rev D. Ledger-Pawson, the chairman will ask Mr John Davison, vice-chairman of the Blaydon Burial Board, to accept, on behalf of the Board, the memorial, to be kept for the inhabitants for all time. The proceedings will close with the singing of the hymn "Abide with me," the benediction, and the playing of the National Anthem.
Names on the Memorial. Following is a list of names inscribed on the memorial...'
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