War Memorial #443 ~ Northallerton Multi-cache

Northallerton War Memorial is toward the north end of the High Street and stands in the south east corner of All Saints Parish Church grounds. It is 3.5 metres high, faces south and is plainly visible to those passing along High Street, especially if going north.

The Memorial consists of a curved contoured Celtic style cross on top of a tapering, woven edged column on an octagonal plinth in a pebbled plot, and unveiled on 6th August 1921, and was dedicated by the Vicar of Northallerton.

The south panel is inscribed;- "IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF NORTHALLERTON MEN WHO GAVE UP THEIR LIVES THAT OTHERS MIGHT LIVE IN FREEDOM 1914 - 1919". The north panel is inscribed “THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE 1939 – 1945” 5 of the faces of the base record the names of 97 who fell in the First World War, the other three faces record the names of 41 who fell in the Second World War, and particularly commemorates all ranks of 6th Bomber Group Royal Canadian Air Force who served on air bases around the area during WW2.
A more recent separate panel commemorates a local young man who lost his life in the Iraq War of 2003, of whom a little more later.

The co-ordinates bring you to the memorial and by studying the names on the various panels using the following guidance you can work out the co-ordinates for the nearby location of the cache itself.

Cache can be found at N54º AB.CDE W001º FG.HIJ where -

A = number of initials given for Lieutenant Kitching (South Face)
B = looks like Carter’s initial (South East Face)
C = number of letters in the Regimental Sergeant Major’s surname (South West Face)
D = same as B
E = first digit of the year Lance Corporal Hyde lost his life (South West Face)
F = number of WW1 “other ranks” heroes named Fowler (South East Face)
G = number of the WW2 Bomber Group commemorated (North Face)
H = number of initials given for the first Captain named (South Face)
I = number of WW1 “other ranks” heroes named Robinson (East Face)
J = number of letters in the surname of the WW2 hero named Francis (North East Face)

Checksum = 30

The route to the final leads you to Northallerton Cemetery which has 16 Commonwealth War Graves from World War I and 14 from World War II.

En route, at N54º 20.450 W001º 26.296, on your left you will find a memorial to Lance Corporal Ben Hyde and five colleagues of the Royal Military Police who were in Iraq in 2003 engaged in re-training the Iraqi Police Force. They were in a Police Station confronted by an armed mob and were engaged in a fire fight which resulted in all six being killed.

Ben was buried with full Military Honours in this, his hometown, on 15th July 2003. For hours the town came to a standstill, the shops closed and the streets were lined with people paying their respects. You might reflect that despite the major conflicts recorded on memorials all over the country, our forces are still placed in difficult or dangerous situations and can still be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Please ensure after signing that the cache is returned out of sight and, as always, give appropriate respect to the memorial, its surrounds and all else that you pass on your short walk to the final.

PLEASE NOTE - The final, ie the cache, is placed within an active, frequently used and visited Cemetery. It is placed there with the agreement of the controlling Committee subject to conditions. The cache will be removed if any of the conditions are breached.

The conditions are -

1) It will be removed if the Committee feel it is adversely affecting the running of the Cemetery or its visitors.

2) Any children MUST be accompanied by a responsible adult, and

3) Access to the Cemetery is ONLY during its normal opening hours of 09.00 to 21.00 (summer) and 09.00 to 16.00 (winter)

First to find reports there is bird’s nest very near the hiding place. We did not spot this when placing the cache so please be extra careful to avoid disturbing the residents.