Restored British Legion standards go on show for VE Day 80
Tony Henderson reports on the restoration of symbols of town’s social and military history
Two historic British Legion Standards went on public display as part of the VE Day 80th anniversary commemorations, following restoration and framing funded by local businesses.
The then-British Legion’s Darlington branch was among the first to be established when the organisation was founded in 1921, with Standards being awarded to the main branch and to its women’s section in recognition of their new status.
New Standards were given to the branch in 1971 after royal status was granted to the organisation on its 50th anniversary, with the original Branch Standards being relocated to St John’s Church in Darlington.
Before the closure of St John’s in 2023, the two original, delicate cloth Standards were rediscovered and reclaimed, and after being temporarily housed at St Herbert’s Church in Darlington.
They were returned to the Darlington branch by the churches in March.
The Standards have since been placed in bespoke wooden frames which feature UV glass to protect them for fading in the light, with North East employers the Banks Group and Hellens Group sharing the cost of the framing work.
The restored artefacts have now been unveiled at a ceremony at the Hopetown Darlington Railway Museum. And will be on display until August as part of the ongoing 200th anniversary celebrations of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, after which they will move to their permanent home in Darlington’s Central Library.
Branch treasurer Steve Brown said: “These Standards are a very important part of the organisation’s heritage, and with the old North Road station being the departure point for thousands of local service personnel when they were going overseas, it’s very fitting that they’re now on show at the Hopetown Museum.
“Bringing the Standards back into public view on the 80th anniversary of VE Day added poignancy to the proceedings.”