| About a week before the 11th, I passed through part of a village I don't normally travel through and spotted a rather nice war memorial. This set me off planning my 2023 memorials tour. The whole trip was a little over 19 miles and took about two hours. |
|||
|
After a few problems getting the Jeep started, I think due to failing batteries, I headed off to my first stop. Shortly before getting there, I made a quick stop to fit the flag and grab a couple of photos in the sunshine, then on to the first memorial where I planned to keep the two minutes silence at 11am. |
|
|
| The first memorial was at Littletown, a small and simple engraved stone, dedicated mostly to those from the village lost during World War 1. One name, Thomas Hopper, dates from World War 2. After the two minutes silence, I set off for the next stop. |
|||
|
|
|
|
| The next and rather impressive memorial was at Shotton Colliery. This is the one I had passed by the previous week. In addition to the soldier on the plinth, there was a nicely kept memorial garden, benches and shelter. |
|||
|
|
|
|
| A bit further South is Wingate village. It was at this village where we had our first 1940s event with the Jeep, back in April 2005. There was a small parking area behind the memorial, which fortunately had spaces, as there were double yellow lines and bollards around the main road. |
|||
|
|
|
|
| From there, I headed West to the cemetary at Wheatley Hill, where the next memorial was located. It was just inside the entrance. Five columns of names were from WW1, one column from WW2 and one name from the Korean War. |
|||
|
|
|
|
| Heading North, the next stop was Thornley village. This was quite a large memorial wall, but in front of it, was a separate memorial to 2nd Lt John Scott Youll V.C. He served in the 11th Service Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. He was killed in Italy on the 27th of October 1918, age 21. He's the second local soldier I've discovered who was awarded the Victoria Cross. |
|||
|
|
|
|
| North again to Ludworth, a memorial I've visited before. I was here for the two minutes silence last year. |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
I originally planned to head home after Ludworth, but made a slight change of plan and headed for Sherburn Hill instead. I've been here before too. There's no parking right next to the memorial, so I had to chock the Jeep further up the bank. |
|
|
| A bit further down the hill, I entered Sherburn village, a separate village to Sherburn Hill, with its own memorial. |
|||
|
|
|
|
| From there, I made my way to St Laurence's Church yard, near Hallgarth Manor for the last memorial on my trip. |
|||
|
|
|
|
| I took a few more pictures of the Jeep amongst the trees before making my way back home. |
|||
|
|
|
|