In 1944 it was the express wishes of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England (nowadays 'the Church Commissioners') that the Corporation of South Shields accept the gift of land, now known as Temple Memorial Park, "...as a tribute by the Commissioners to the part which the citizens of South Shields have played during war-time in the service of their country."  Please see photo of the council minutes for the full account.

To this day, South Tyneside Council are still refusing to accept or recognise that Temple Memorial Park is therefore a War Memorial.  The Council accepted the offer, "...on the terms outlined above and to place on record the warm appreciation of the Council and of the townspeople for the Commissioner's most generous gift..." yet appear to want the intentions of the original gift, and the wishes of local residents, to be ignored. 

Whilst South Tyneside Council will claim to be protective of our environment and our green spaces and also to support, recognise, and celebrate, the efforts of our veterans and armed forces past and present, they continue to resist calls to recognise Temple Memorial Park as a war memorial.  South Tyneside Council have yet to provide an explanation as to why they refuse to do this, perhaps it's because this could require additional moral obligations to retain the land for use by the community in perpetuity? Maybe because they would struggle to build on the land or lease the land for others to build on it? Who knows? They won't explain why they need to resist these calls, which have existed for many years.

It is important to note that this petition will be sent to South Tyneside Council on Thursday 8th May, VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), a day when, in 1945, the country and many other allied countries celebrated the end of war in Europe.  On the 80th anniversary of this national celebration we 'the undersigned', request that Temple Memorial Park be finally recognised, in the spirit of the original gift, as a war memorial "as a tribute by the Commissioners to the part which the citizens of South Shields have played during war-time in the service of their country."