THIS weekend’s remembrance ceremony at Howden-le-Wear is going to be all the more poignant as it is 100 years to the day since the granite war memorial was unveiled.

The memorial bears the names of 33 men who died in the First World War and of 10 who died in the Second.

Howden-le-Wear war memorial in the 1930sOne of those names is Chief Engine Room Artificer Wilfred Elliott, 35, who died on April 25, 1916, less than 24 hours after taking part in one of the most surreal experiments of the war.

The enemy was introducing a new, terrible weapon: the Zeppelin airship, which dropped bombs as it went. On April 1, 1916, Zeppelin L11 had bombed Sunderland, killing 22 and injuring 128, before heading south to terrorise Middlesbrough.

Most famously, on April 5, Zeppelin L16 came over Seaham, which the captain believed to be Scarborough. He flew inland, saw lights which he figured must be Leeds and so threw out some bombs – onto the villages near Bishop Auckland of Close House and Eldon. One boy, and a few chickens, were killed.

READ THE FULL STORY OF DEATH BY DIRIGIBLE IN THE DENE VALLEY HERE

To combat the new menace, the British drew up a cunning plan. They attached two Sopworth seaplanes to the top of Wilfred’s submarine, HMS E22, which sailed out into the North Sea. When E22 dived to the bottom, the seaplanes floated upwards and took off, ready to attack any Zeppelin, although on the day of the trial, April 24, 1916, they simply flew back in to Felixstowe.

Next day, E22 was out on patrol when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat. It sank immediately. Of its 33-man crew, only two survived, picked up by the U-boat and taken prisoner.

The Howden-le-Wear memorial on the right in the 1930sAnd so Wilfred’s name is on the memorial that was designed and sculpted by JG Brown of Wolsingham for £217. Made of granite, it is 13ft 3ins high and was unveiled by Captain RA Howe, of Willington, who had grown up in Howden, on November 11, 1924.

“It was the spirit of comradeship that won the war, and that spirit is one of the finest things in life,” he said. “That same spirit is needed now to win the peace.”

He said that “all mothers, wives and sweethearts” were proud when their lads went away to war, “but some did not return and their names are recorded on the memorial for all time.

“They would look with pride on that memorial knowing that their lads suffered untold hardship and gave their lives unflinchingly so that their homeland would be kept safe.”

A 1960s Howden-le-Wear postcard with the war memorial in pride of placeFor people like Wilfred’s parents, who still lived in the village, the memorial would have been doubly valuable because as his body was never recovered from the sea, they had no grave to mourn at.

On Remembrance Sunday, at 10am in the New Victoria Centre (the home of the famous 1930s Wurlitzer cinema organ), Howden History Society will hold a commemoration of the “service and sacrifice” of the village, as told in stories, photos, videos and music. It will be followed by a procession to the 100-year-old memorial for a minute’s reflection.

READ MORE: SELF-SACRIFICING BRAVERY OF THE VILLAGE NAMES CARVED IN STONE

AND: CORNERS OF SOUTH DURHAM THAT ARE FOREVER BELGIAN AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR

  • With thanks to Joan Potts

The Howden-le-Wear memorial dressed for Remembrance Sunday