St George's House,
    
   Northern Police Orphanage. 1898-1956  Harrogate, Yorkshire, England.

 

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Memorials

St George's had two War Memorials on display in the foyer of the main building. These were in remembrance of the old boys and girls that served in World War I and World War II. They were both produced by professionals in their own field, Frances Darlington Sculptor (WWI Memorial) and the firm of Robert Thomson aka the 'Mouseman of Kilburn' (WWII Memorial). See below for more information:

1914 - 1918 World War Memorial.
In December 1918 the War Memorial, the gift of Dr. and Mrs Crawford Watson, was unveiled by the Right Hon. Sir John Grenfell Maxwell, P.C., G.C.B., etc., Commander in Chief, Northern Command. Major F.H. Fawkes presided at the Ceremony, and after a dedicatory Prayer offered by the Rev. E.A.Chard, St. George’s hymn was sung by the children. The Memorial was the work of Miss Frances Darlington and portrays in plaster the vision of St. George appearing to and succouring Richard Coeur de Lion. It is surrounded by a dark oak frame, with the Crusaders’ Motto “Deus vult” inscribed in gold on the pediment. Underneath is a brass plate containing the names of those who served in the War, the names of those who gave their lives had the capitals engraved in red.      

 

                 
          The original presentation complete     Enlargement of central area showing          The same memorial after refurbishing.
         with oak frame and pedestal             the detail of the plaster design.                 by Ripon Museum.

 

Following is a list of those St George's old boys who served in the First World War, thirty seven in all. The names in Yellow
indicate the ten who lost their lives during the conflict.

Name Number Name Number Name Number
George Robert Nuttall 2 Alfred P. Phillips 64 Fredrick P. Phillips 102
Alexander Nuttall 3 Joseph Rotherforth 65 George Ward 106
Arthur Nuttall 4 Vincent Wilson Boyd 67 Fred. Wainwright 108
Richard Ashburne 6 H. Vincent Thomas 69 Charles Clayton 111
Alfred Ashburne 7 Joseph Fletcher 72 John Raymond Cook 115
Frank Philbey 12 Fredrick W.M. Winks 80 Baden Brooke 117
George Philbey 13 Henry Crawford 86 Norman Whiteley 121
Charles Southern 30 Joseph Bell 88 John Donnelly 132
John Wilfred Bee 34 Frank Booth 90 Albert Flood 135
William Preston 39 Arthur Marston 93 Cyril C. Sykes 144
A. Edward Ayres 45 Russell Halliday 96 Herbert Hampson 153
Bertram I. Andrews 47 R. William Halliday 97    
Herbert Lodge 51 Robert E. Keeble 101    

 


Frances Darlington. Sculptor. The Artist who designed and sculpted the World War 1 memorial.

Born in Headingley, Leeds, Yorkshire, on 2nd February 1880 to Emma & Latimer Darlington (Solicitor and Belgium Consul for Bradford). Her early childhood was spent in Ilkley, Yorkshire, the family then moved to Harrogate.
Frances trained under Sir George Frampton at the Slade School of Arts in London and continued her study at the South Kensington schools.
Elise M. Bayley produced a painting of Frances Darlington's Knaresborough studio, named The Sculptor's Loft.
This painting is part of the Mercer Art Gallery collection, Harrogate.
 

                                    
                                       Frances Darlington                                  The Sculptor's Loft  

We extend our thanks and appreciation to Louise Marchal, Great Great Niece of Frances Darlington, for giving us access to her research and for providing photos of this truly remarkable artist and her work.

       Some close up photographs of the World War I Memorial, showing the workmanship and detail involved in the sculpture.

                      

                      

                    

                  


1939 - 1945 World War Memorial.

This memorial was commissioned by the 'Old' Girls and Boys of St George's and was unveiled in Easter 1947. It commemorates the five boys from St George's who lost their lives while serving with the Armed Forces during the Second World War.

                                                             Henry Hunter Bagot.        Royal Armoured Corps
                                                             George William Boston.    
Coldstream Guards
                                                             Lawrence Stanley Bryan. 
Royal Air Force
                                                             Herbert George Edwards. 
Royal Air Force
                                                             Desmond William Pepper. 
The Dorset Regiment

 

                                                            

The memorial plaque was manufactured by the well known craftsman, Robert Thompson "The Mouseman of Kilburn" and features
his trademark mouse carved into the top curved frame, just above the word House.

The Craftsman: Robert Thompson. 1876 - 1955

   

 

            

A brief history:

Robert Thompson, born in 1876 dedicated his life to the craft of carving and joinery in English Oak at his workshop    located at Kilburn, North Yorkshire. He taught himself to use the traditional tools and by 1919 he was experimenting with his own ideas for producing furniture based on the English styles of the 17th Century.

The famous mouse symbol, found on every item crafted by Robert Thompson’s, became his trademark . The story told by Robert Thompson himself is that one of his craftsmen remarked that they “were all as poor as church mice” whereupon Robert carved a mouse on the church screen he was working on. That particular mouse has never been found but it has continued as a trade mark of quality and dedication ever since.

Robert Thompson a true craftsman, died in 1955.

 


What happened to the two Memorials ?

When the St George's buildings were demolished the two memorials were transferred to St Andrew's, Police Treatment Centre, Harrogate, for safekeeping. They remained there until the early part of 2007. St Andrew's was undergoing refurbishment at the time and the two plaques were officially donated by Katherine Martin, former Chief Executive Officer at St Andrew's, to Ralph Lindley of the Ripon Museum, where they were both refurbished and made available for viewing by the public.                                                                     

                                                                  
                                                                  
 Ralph Lindley of Ripon Museum with Katherine Martin,
                                                      the former Chief Executive Officer of Police Treatment Centre


   

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                                                                                                                                        Deus Vult