On Saturday 12 April there was an unveiling of a memorial commemorating the bi-centenary of the railways which started on 27 September 1825, when passengers first boarded a steam locomotive at Shildon in County Durham.
The memorial in the Bishop Auckland Garden of Remembrance took the shape of a simple cross and was sculptured by Bishop Auckland’s Charlie Devlin from original “Bull Head” rail track, kindly donated by Network Rail.
A small plaque on the cross reads “In memory of the Railway workers of Bishop Auckland and Shildon”.
The well attended and dignified event was also to acknowledge the many railway staff who, over the two centuries, had fought for our nation, ensuring the freedom we take for granted each and every day.
Former Shildon Waggon Works employee James Moffatt gave a reading citing in the Great War 1914-18 a total of 186,957 railway staff volunteered to fight with sadly 18,957 being killed in action.
A total of seven Victoria Crosses have been awarded to former railway workers for their heroism on the battlefield.
Ten Bishop Auckland Railway Station staff were killed in World War 1, whilst seventy nine Shildon Waggon Works employees were killed in the same conflict.
One of the Shildon men killed was John Peacock who enlisted in the 8th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment in September 1918 at Vaulx-Vracourt, Arras, France.
His great great nephew Johnny Peacock himself also a Shildon Waggon Works employee, along with Peter Rowley and Harry Newton – both ex-Shildon Works staff – performed the unveiling ceremony whilst the Bishops Piper, Kevin York played suitable laments.
A minutes silence was held before the reading of a verse from the Laurence Binyon poem For the Fallen:
‘They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.
‘Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
‘At the going down of the sun in the morning, we shall remember them.’
Of course, other conflicts have involved Railway staff and the Remembrance Garden actually has a plaque in the beautifully maintained site to a former railwayman who served in HM Armed Forces, namely Tommy Stuart who was at Korea with the RAF before being employed at the Shildon works in the 1970’s.
Piper Kevin York closed the ceremony by playing a suitable lament in memory of Tommy.
Many thanks to Michael Oneil for organising the event.
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
