Historical Note on John Aidan Liddell  VC MC  (1888-1915)

Aidan was the son of John Liddell, the nephew of Matthew and Susanna Liddell and lived at Prudhoe Hall after the death of Susanna in 1894, until his family moved to Hampshire in 1904. So for about ten years he would have attended Mass in our church with his family. He was educated by the Jesuits at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire and then at Balliol College, Oxford. He subsequently fought with great distinction in the First World War. The following information on his life has been obtained from his biography written by Peter Daybell, entitled "With a Smile and a Wave", and published by Pen and Sword Books Ltd, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Few will now recognise the name of John Aidan Liddell, but for a brief period in the late summer of 1915, his name was on the lips of a nation hungry for news from the war. His face and story, and a series of remarkable photographs, filled many newspaper columns. Already decorated for bravery as an infantry officer, Aidan Liddell had transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, and it was as a pilot that his skill and fortitude was to attract national acclaim. Badly wounded in the thigh while flying deep over enemy occupied Belgium, he had lost consciousness as his two-seater RE5 aircraft was raked by enemy machine gun fire and plunged out of control towards the ground. His subsequent actions were later described by his commanding officer as 'one of the finest feats that has been done in the Corps since the beginning of the war.' Despite terrible injuries, and the extensive damage to his machine, he recovered control of the aircraft and flew on for a further half an hour to the safety of the allied Belgian airfield of La Panne, where a photographer captured the dramatic scenes for posterity. For his courage and flying skill in saving the life of his Observer, and for bringing back a valuable aircraft to the safety of a friendly airfield, Captain John Aidan Liddell MC of the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the Royal Flying Corps was awarded the Victoria Cross. Presented For Valour, the VC was the highest military award of the British Empire, and Aidan's Cross was only the fourth VC ever to be won in the air. 

          No doubt part of the attraction for the British public was that Aidan had seemingly cheated almost certain death and had lived on to be proclaimed a hero. Lying on a stretcher on the ground, a cigarette in hand, he had smiled and waved for the camera. But the celebrations were short-lived, for despite rallying bravely, he died of his wounds a month after the action, and a week after the VC was gazetted. Aidan Liddell, was a thoughtful, self-effacing, immensely likeable and modest young man. Scholar, scientist, naturalist, astronomer, musician, racing motor cyclist, aviator, photographer and diarist, he embraced the challenges of the new century and the Edwardian era with great enthusiasm and no small degree of talent. He was born on the 3rd of August 1888 in Benwell, and although he was to move to the South of England early in his life, his roots were firmly in the North East, and in particular in Newcastle upon Tyne. His family were prosperous land and coal owners whose determination and business acumen had advanced the family fortunes over successive generations. Indeed, they were typical of the successful 19th Century North Eastern entrepreneurs whose industry and vision underpinned the development and growth of Tyneside after the industrial revolution. They were also devoutly Roman Catholic. His father John Liddell had worked with his uncle Matthew in the collieries at Mickley, Prudhoe, West Wylam and Thirlwell. Upon Matthew's death John inherited a substantial share of his uncle's fortune. He lived at Benwell Hall and it was there in 1888 that Aidan was born. John had become a Director of the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company and a Justice of the Peace for Northumberland. In 1898 the Liddell family moved to Prudhoe Hall after the death of John's aunt Susanna. It was an altogether more impressive home than Benwell, and it is not surprising that he decided to move into this grand house which was so close to his important mining interests. It was John Liddell who moved the church of 'Our Lady and St Cuthbert's', from its original site at Prudhoe Hall to land in the town several miles away. This extraordinary feat took place in 1904, by which time the Liddells had plans to sell the Hall, and move south.

Historical Note on Daniel Cottier

Born in Anderston Glasgow in January 1837 to a Manx father and Highland Scots mother, Margaret M'lean. He has been thus described, '...with his big head, his curly red hair, his shrewd and humorous eyes, his strong Scots accent, his unaffected naturalness and bonhomie - was more like an ideal coasting skipper than an artist' - his father was indeed a mariner. Madox Brown is quoted as saying, '...but Cottier, as a colourist has a range of performance beyond that of any other modern artist. Here line and colouring are suggestive of paradise itself.'

Cottier was apprenticed to a John Cairney & Co, glass-stainers in Glasgow at 14 years of age, where with the other apprentices he learnt to grind and mix his own colours. He studied under Madox Brown in London in the early 1860's and learnt from Morris's experimentation with colour harmonies. In 1862 at the age of 24 he went to work for Field & Allen in Leith (Edinburgh) as foreman designer. Three years later (1865) he opened his own business in Glasgow. One key contract was for the United Presbyterian congregation (now the Cottier Theatre). He initially traded in Glasgow, but some of his early glass and early experimentations in decoration are in Paisley and in Aberdeen, particularly in St Machar's Cathedral. In 1867 he moved to London and in 1873 opened his New York house. He also opened a branch in Australia. He is considered to have been an important influence on Louis Comfort Tiffany, and is also credited with introducing the Aesthetic movement to America and Australia.

He died of a heart attack at Jacksonville, Florida whilst on holiday, and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, New York.

The reader will see the remarkable similarity between the Prudhoe Star of David design and the Glasgow Seal design. In addition, both in the Prudhoe Hall Main Window and the Church Sanctuary Rose Windows, thin concentric cirlces of different coloured glass at the margins encapsulate the bird motif or christological symbol. The repetitive use of a yellow flower motif, akin to a buttercup, throughout the leaded lights of both the Hall and Church windows and even the same line drawings of long loops suggestive of foliage, point to the same designer, Daniel Cottier. The similarity of approach is further indicated by the use of a dark grey graphite border with wording or a waving line with dot in both sets of windows.

Acknowledgements:

“History of the Catholic Parish of Prudhoe”, written by Reverend J. Lenders in 1928.  In his foreword, he states that John Liddell of Basingstoke and Fr James Walsh helped him. Reverend Lenders at that time resided at Minsteracres.

“The Times History of the World”: new edition published 1999 by HarperCollins, 77-88 Fulham Palace Rd, London W6 8JB.

Michael Johnson of Hetton-le-Hole for his description of the church in his MA dissertation on the architects Dunn and Hansom.

David Cummings BA (Hons) Dip Arch, the 3D Visualisation Manager for Napper Architects in Newcastle, who digitally restored most of the historic photographs in this booklet.

Peter Daybell, who wrote the book "With a Smile and a Wave", published by Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England. 

Alex Kuhlman, parishioner who created the parish website and kindly assisted in the assembly of the photographs into the text.

Photo of Presbytery and grounds taken from the Belfry in 2005