ONE hundred years ago this week, one of the region’s most notable war memorials was unveiled. It is at the top of Frenchgate in Richmond and, said The Northern Echo, was dedicated to the 7,500 officers and men from the Green Howards regiment, which had been headquartered in the town, who had been killed.
When the Frenchgate war memorial was unveiled 100 years ago this week, the D&S Times reported that the four buglers “faultlessly” played The Last Post. Picture: GREEN HOWARDS MUSEUM
During the First World War, 65,000 men had served in the regiment, and now reckoned that about 9,000 of them never made it back to Richmond.
The Echo said the cross, unveiled by Sir Hugh Bell, the Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding, was “beautiful in its strict simplicity”.
“A guard of honour was drawn up facing the monument, while two soldiers with arms reversed standing at the foot of the steps leading to the dais on which the monument is erected, lent due solemnity to the occasion,” said the Echo.
From The Northern Echo of 100 years ago
Its sister paper, the Darlington & Stockton Times, said: “The fine cross that now so conspicuously stands at the top of Frenchgate, one of the most picturesque streets of old Richmond, is indeed something that adds to the features of interest of the North Riding. Approaching it from the bottom of the hill, the spectator is struck by the rugged simplicity of the outline, and yet its massive features immediately convey the impression that this is something more than a mere country town war memorial, as indeed it is. The Celtic cross is 21ft in height, but it is approached by a flight of 21 broad stone steps, which fact gives some idea of its size and grandeur.”
The Echo also carried this composite picture which shows the moment that the cross was unveiled
The cross was made from stone quarried on the Aske estate, owned by Lord Zetland, on the edge of the town.
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