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| The Heaviside VC paving stone and information panel, with wreaths placed after the unveiling (Photo by Durham County Record Office) |
For the past few weeks my life seems to have been dominated by a man who died in 1939. This may sound a little creepy but, in fact, it has been an uplifting and inspiring experience.
The meetings started in the dim and distant past. My diary shows that the first meeting we had to discuss commemorating Michael Heaviside’s homecoming was in July 2015. Daniel O’Brien of Stanley Area Action Partnership came to the Record Office to talk about recreating the parade that took place on 12 July 1917 to welcome back the town’s returning Victoria Cross winner. We talked to him about the fact there is surviving film of the parade, and the newspaper reports in the Stanley News which go into minute detail of who marched, the route, the bands, and the banners carried.
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| Michael Heaviside information banner next to Craghead Lodge banner (Photo by Durham County Record Office) |
Fast forward almost two years – since the beginning of the year the meetings have come thick and fast. The number of people involved grew and sub-groups split from the main planning meetings that went from monthly, then bi-monthly, and eventually to weekly. However, one of the participants in the meetings did comment on how relaxed all of the meetings were. He attributed this to the swan syndrome; calm on top and paddling like hell underneath. I think it was quite a fair assessment. In fact, Mark Davinson, the County Councillor for Craghead, would often email there and then, announcing five minutes after a decision had been made that it was now all sorted!
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| Pupils of St Joseph's RC Primary and the Sacriston Lodge banner on Stanley Front Street (Photo by Durham County Record Office) |
For my part, I worked with the education officers of the DLI Collections to put together a series of workshops for primary schools in the area. The idea was to provide some background for the school children so they understood the significance of the day. We targeted the schools that had been along the original route of parade, with the hope that they would join the 2017 parade. It was often difficult to fit the sessions in around timetables, sports days, and other school activities, but it was great fun working with the kids and getting their reaction to their local hero. Watching some of the children that I had worked with talking on the local television news about Michael Heaviside and what he meant to them was an incredibly proud moment for me.
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| Horse drawn charabanc provided by Beamish (Photo by Durham County Record Office) |
Beamish kindly lent some costumes for the children, but even those who weren’t wearing these costumes made an amazing effort to look the part. It has to be said that quite a number of the teachers and (cough) other County Council employees at the event enjoyed the dressing up as much as the kids did! Some of the grown-ups were so reluctant to give their costumes back that they were even seen in their outfits at the evening film showing.
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| Norman Heaviside in First World War uniform representing his grandfather, Michael (Photo by Durham County Record Office) |
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| The people of Stanley turned out to watch the parade, just like they did 100 years ago (Photo by Durham County Record Office) |
But the parade was only part of the programme. In the morning, the Lord-Lieutenant of Durham, Sue Snowdon, unveiled the commemorative paving stone and plaque to Michael Heaviside in Craghead. Michael Heaviside lived opposite Bloemfontein School, and there was a suitable site here for the paving stone to be placed. All of the school children were in the playground to watch the ceremony. Once wreaths had been laid, we all crossed over to the school where a wall-plaque to Michael Heaviside has be erected by the Town Council. Bloemfontein also took their pupils to a special after-school club that volunteers from Beamish ran in Craghead Village Hall. The kids could dress in uniforms to do drill, make flags, play period games and swing on the ever-popular shuggy boats.
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| The plaque unveiled at Bloemfontain School (Photo by Durham County Record Office) |
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| Children enjoy the shuggy boats (Photo by Durham County Record Office) |
The evening finished with a rare showing of the film “The Battle of Arras” with a fascinating live narration from film historian, Alistair Fraser. Before the main feature the audience was treated to a showing of the film of Heaviside’s parade 100 years before, accompanied by a new piece of brass band music.
To say that it has been a busy couple of days is an understatement. Months of planning paid off and I am sure that anyone who was on Front Street in Stanley on Wednesday afternoon will remember the occasion for a long time to come. Hundreds of people lined the streets to commemorate one of their own who saved lives in the midst of war, and that is something worth remembering.
For more on Heaviside:
Stanley News report of the homecoming: http://www.durhamatwar.org.uk/material/140/
Michael Heaviside: http://www.durhamatwar.org.uk/story/11172/
Our volunteer, Jean, has also put up a story about Michael's brother, Thomas, who served with the Canadian Army: http://www.durhamatwar.org.uk/story/13515/
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