Seaham Harbour

I've Blipped this once before but today's weather was too good not to take a new image - and this time on an iPhone. I think the image quality is good for something I carry around in my pocket - and make phone calls on!


Tommy is a 9 feet 6 inches tall steel statue on the green at Seaham Harbour overlooking the Cenotaph.

Apart from the obvious reasons for its purpose, for local sculptor Ray Lonsdale from South Hetton it signifies a war weary combatant reflecting the end of the war at 11.01, November 11th 1918; the first minute of peace.

The expression of relief, sorrow and horror of what he and his comrades had been through is hauntingly and sympathetically expressed in Tommy's slumped shoulders and staring eyes.

It also represents the painfulness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which many of the returning soldiers endured. The artist got the idea for a tribute statue when he heard a story of a local WW1 soldier from nearby Murton.