A Garden of Reflection

The Ashington Memorial Garden was developed and financially supported by Ashington Town Council working with key partners: the Ashington Branch of the Royal British Legion, the Western Front Association, local schools, and historians. It provides a space for quiet reflection, recognising the service given and sacrifice made by the Ashington community in times of conflict.

At the centrepiece of the Garden, designed by Hugh Massey Architects, is the War Memorial incorporating the 'Unknown Soldier' — a sculpture created by Tom Maley in 2001. A further Memorial recognising conflicts after 1945 is also centrally located alongside.

Over 1,000 people from the Ashington community gave their lives in the World Wars. Extensive research by local historians enabled new plaques for the Memorial, correcting significant omissions and errors and fully recognising all who made the ultimate sacrifice. We thank Margaret Allison, David Easton, Alan Grint, Gloria Leitch, Barry Mead and David Wise for their considerable efforts in developing the plaques.

The project began in 2014 on the site of the previous war memorial. Physical works were completed in October 2015, with a Re-dedication Service held on Friday 6 November 2015.

Re-dedication Service Films

The Re-dedication Service was filmed by young people from Ashington High School and Northumberland YMCA, who also interviewed those involved with the project. We thank the young people for their efforts — the films can be found using the links in the documents section below.

The principal contractor for the garden works was Brambledown Landscape Services Ltd, with support from Azure Printing, Barry Mead Heritage Consultancy, and Rivermeade Signs Ltd.

Electronic images of the Information Boards and further memorial documentation are all available as PDFs in the downloads section below.