Tursdale Colliery war memorial

The war memorial of Tursdale Colliery, County Durham: a granite pedestal carrying the names of 41 of the colliery's workmen killed in the First World War, set before the Aged Mine Workers' cottages the miners built as a memorial. Its lost marble soldier was replaced in 2018 by Ray Lonsdale's steel figure 'Not Much to Ask'.

The mining history in this record

The memorial is dedicated to 'the workmen of Tursdale Colliery' who died in the First World War. Its 41 men came from the villages around the pit: Bowburn, Coxhoe, East Howle, Ferryhill, Hett, Metal Bridge, Tursdale and West Cornforth. It carries no Second World War names.

The colliery's mineworkers also built three pairs of Aged Mine Workers' cottages on Thinford Road as a war memorial, set in a shallow arc facing the monument; one record dates them to 1921, another has them opened in 1920. The rough-hewn granite pedestal on a square sandstone base originally carried a marble statue of a soldier resting on reversed arms, which was damaged and removed about 1970, leaving the pedestal bare.

People

Ray Lonsdale, sculptor of 'Not Much to Ask'.

Legacy today

In 2018, for the centenary of the end of the war, a new figure by the sculptor Ray Lonsdale was unveiled on the pedestal: a soldier in rusted steel, rifle lowered, titled 'Not Much to Ask'. The memorial homes still stand around it, modernised.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The memorial is dedicated to the workmen of Tursdale Colliery who died in the First World War, and carries 41 names. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The granite pedestal first carried a marble statue of a soldier resting on reversed arms, damaged and removed about 1970. (documented fact) ³
• In 2018 a new statue by Ray Lonsdale, 'Not Much to Ask', was unveiled on it for the centenary of the war's end. (documented fact) ^3,1
• Three pairs of Aged Mine Workers' cottages built by the colliery's mineworkers as a war memorial face the monument. (documented fact) ^4,1
• The memorial cottages were built in 1921. (documented fact, disputed) ⁴
• The memorial homes were opened in 1920. (later recollection, disputed) ¹

Mines

• Tursdale Colliery — County Durham
  Dedicated to the workmen of Tursdale Colliery who died in the First World War; its Aged Mine Workers' memorial homes were built by the colliery's mineworkers.

Sources

1. (secondary) Not Much to Ask War Memorial in Tursdale — Fabulous North
2. (secondary) Other nearby war memorials — Bowburn Local History
3. (observational) Tursdale Colliery (WMO 175989) — War Memorials Online
4. (primary) War Memorial Cottages, Thinford Road, Tursdale (D49775) — Keys to the Past (Durham and Northumberland HER)

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026