Not Much to Ask - Metal Bridge, Durham
15. Not Much to Ask
Aged Mine Workers War Memorial Homes, Tursdale, Durham, DH6 5PA
What3words: reception.cucumber.stage
“Not Much to Ask” is a poignant war memorial sculpture by Ray Lonsdale, located near Metal Bridge in County Durham. Crafted from weathering steel, the statue depicts a weary World War I soldier pausing to take a drink from his canteen—a moment of quiet humanity amid the chaos of war.
The memorial stands on the original plinth from 1922, which had remained empty for decades after the original statue was damaged and lost under mysterious circumstances—local lore suggests it was accidentally decapitated by road workers in the 1960s2. In 2018, to mark the centenary of the end of WWI, Lonsdale’s sculpture was unveiled as a tribute to 41 men from the local area who died in the conflict3.
The inscription around the base reads simply: “Sacred”, and the statue is accompanied by a moving piece of prose that ends with the soldier’s wish to “just stand at peace in my Durham home”
Not Much to Ask - Metal Bridge, Durham
15. Not Much to Ask
Aged Mine Workers War Memorial Homes, Tursdale, Durham, DH6 5PA
What3words: reception.cucumber.stage
“Not Much to Ask” is a poignant war memorial sculpture by Ray Lonsdale, located near Metal Bridge in County Durham. Crafted from weathering steel, the statue depicts a weary World War I soldier pausing to take a drink from his canteen—a moment of quiet humanity amid the chaos of war.
The memorial stands on the original plinth from 1922, which had remained empty for decades after the original statue was damaged and lost under mysterious circumstances—local lore suggests it was accidentally decapitated by road workers in the 1960s2. In 2018, to mark the centenary of the end of WWI, Lonsdale’s sculpture was unveiled as a tribute to 41 men from the local area who died in the conflict3.
The inscription around the base reads simply: “Sacred”, and the statue is accompanied by a moving piece of prose that ends with the soldier’s wish to “just stand at peace in my Durham home”