York, England: North Eastern Railway War Memorial

We passed this memorial while walking on York's City Walls, and wondered what it could be. It took up a lot of space on the streets of York, so someone must have thought it was important. (Authorities were in the process of a good-sized reconstruction project during our visit.)

A little research came up with the answer. It's the North Eastern Railway War Memorial, and it pays tribute to employees who died in World War I. There were 2,200 who were killed overseas, while others who died in national service back home.

The NER was a company that was put together around 1854 via a merger of sorts. Its board decided in 1920 to put together a tribute to its fallen workers. There was a bit of a fight about where it should go, as the NER thought it should be near the rail lines - but the city was already planning its own memorial in that neighborhood. Eventually, the two sides compromised. The Railroad's memorial is inside the city walls, and the City's landed outside the walls.   

When the 100th birthday of the memorial arrived, a successor to the NER wanted to refurbish it to bring it up to date. It's fair to say that work was continuing during our 2025 visit.