Used Tyne and Wear Metro track set to be recycled for a new South Shields war memorial
A donation of used Metro track is set to be transformed into a new war memorial in South Shields.
Nexus has donated used Tyne and Wear Metro track to create of a new South Shields memorial to British soldiers who served in the Far East during the Second World War.
The ten metres of track will be used to commemorate a North East solider and his fellow prisoners who built the ‘Death Railway’ between Thailand and Myanmar, formerly Burma, from 1942 to 1943.
The new memorial will be located alongside the statute of Lee Gibson, a veteran from Sunderland who was captured by the Japanese, which has stood in North Marine Park since late 2025.
Mr Gibson was among 60,000 Allied prisoners who were forced to build the ‘Death Railway’.
‘The memorial we’re going to create will be amazing’
Brian Burnie, who founded the cancer charity Daft as a Brush commission the statue of Len to pay tribute to his “wonderful” friend who passed away aged 101, in 2021.
Now Brian’s latest project will see the area next to the statue transformed to create the new memorial.
It will use rails and sleepers from the Metro system to honour the sacrifice made by British soldiers held captive by Japan.
Brian has privately funded the tribute and is aiming to have the project finished in time for the annual VJ Day on August 15.
The charity founder has thanked Nexus for their support and is now looking forward to getting started with the next phase of the memorial project.
He said: “It’s absolutely fantastic that Nexus has been able to donate some used Metro track for the project. I’m very grateful for their support.
“It will be a very moving piece of work
“The memorial we’re going to create will be amazing.
“It will be an extra part of the Len Gibson statue at North Marine Park, representative of all those men who worked on the Burma railway when they were prisoners of war in the Far East.
“They are called the Forgotten Army and I want to redress that issue. We’re looking forward to getting started with the next phase of the project.”
Supporting the project
Stuart Clarke, Infrastructure Director at Nexus, has expressed his delight at being able to support the next phase of Brian’s project.
He commented: “We’re delighted to be able to donate used Metro track to support this amazing project.
“The track will form a new feature at the Len Gibson statue, creating a new memorial for Len Gibson and the many thousands of other British soldiers who died in the Far East during World War Two.
“Using the rails is poignant, given that British prisoners of war, including Mr Gibson, were forced to build the ‘Death Railway’ between Thailand and Myanmar (formerly Burma), from 1942 to 1943.
“By re-using these items in this way, it supports our own commitment to work sustainably in everything that we do, while helping the voluntary sector where we can.”
The Len Gibson statue was created by local artist Ray Lonsdale in his South Hetton workshop.
At the reveal in December, Ray said: “You see all the First World War statues, you see all the difference aspects that are commemorated on a regular basis, so it’s nice to bring this story to the fore.”