11.01

Tommy is a 9 feet 6 inches tall steel statue on the green at Seaham Harbour overlooking the Cenotaph.

Apart from the obvious reasons for its purpose, for local sculptor Ray Lonsdale from South Hetton it signifies a war weary combatant reflecting the end of the war at 11.01, November 11th 1918; the first minute of peace.

The expression of relief, sorrow and horror of what he and his comrades had been through is hauntingly and sympathetically expressed in Tommy's slumped shoulders and staring eyes.

It also represents the painfulness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which many of the returning soldiers endured. The artist got the idea for a tribute statue when he heard a story of a local WW1 soldier from nearby Murton.

The inset photograph is of my grandfather, John William Dawson who worked at Vane Tempest pit in Seaham. He was refused war service because of injuries caused by a stone fall at the face. John William's brother Norman also worked at Vane Tempest and Dawdon pits. He enlisted to fight in WW1 and suffered and survived mustard gas poisoning.

They would be proud to know of this tribute to their friends and colleagues, many who were lost in the Great War.

(My other grandfather, Alexander Bell worked in the mines during WW1 and died in a seam roof collapse at Shotton Colliery Pit).