Memorial details

Memorial type
Other memorial
District
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Town
Newcastle Upon Tyne
County
Tyne And Wear
Country
England
Commemoration
Second World War (1939-1945)
Maker
Ronald G Sims, Cathedral Architect (Designer)
Ceremony
  • Presented
    Date: 30 April 1949
    Attended by:
  • Unveiled
    Date: 13 May 1982
  • Show More (1)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
48441

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Current location

St Nicholas' Cathedral
St Nicholas' Square
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Tyne And Wear
NE1 1PF
England

OS Grid Ref: NZ 25002 64007
Denomination: Church of England

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Description
Sculpture of several stainless steel uprights to which are attached four eccentric shaped slabs of slate (representing the Danish islands) bearing the dedication in Danish. The whole is very plain and simple and represents a ship. At front left are five waist high tall mild steel candlesticks. At front right is a glass case containing the names . To the left a separate slab pinned to the wall bears an inscription in English. The lettering is incised on the slabs and coloured white using Roman capitals with the text in Danish and English. The Danish flag hanging above the memorial is the one which hung outside the Danish pool (the home of the Danish merchant fleet, in St Nicholas' Buildings, opposite the Cathedral), during the war. The Book of Remembrance was originally in the Danish Seamen's Church in Newcastle (opened 30 Apr 1949, closed 1969), and was then moved to the Danish Seamen's Church in London closed 1980. It has 1,406 names of Danish seamen who lost their lives in WW2 starting with a deck boy aged 16. The sculpture is a replacement for an original memorial wall- that was given to the Frihedsmuseet (Liberation Museum) in Copenhagen, and is now at the former Froslev Concentration Camp, South Jutland, Denmark.
Inscription
Tablet 1-MINDE/OM DE DANSKE SOFOLK/AF ALLE GRADER SOM/SATTE LIVET TIL/I DERES LANDS TJENESTE/AARENE 1939-1945 Tablet 2-DU SOM LAESER DERES NAVNE/HUSK Tablet 3-DE DODE FOR/DANMARK/DE DODE FOR/FRIHEDEN Tablet 4-FOR AT VI LEVEDNE/KUNDE VAERE SOM DE/FRIE-DANSKE Tablet 5-IN MEMORY OF DANISH/ SEAMEN OF ALL RANKS WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE/ SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE YEARS 1939 - 1945./ WHEN YOU READ THEIR NAMES/ REMEMBER THAT THEY DIED/ FOR DENMARK. THEY DIED/ FOR FREEDOM SO THAT WE,/ LIKE THEM, MIGHT LIVE AS FREE DANES.
Inscription legible?
yes
Commemorations
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 1406
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1406
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Undefined
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Sculpture
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Stainless Steel
  • Tablets
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Slate - Westmoreland
  • Candle holder
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Steel
  • Book
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Paper, Leather
  • Case
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Wood, Glass
  • Flag
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Fabric
Listing information
Condition
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Sponsorship
Corporate
Details: The Danish Shipowner's Association
Reference

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:

© WMR-48441

For queries, please contact [email protected].