The Leeds Rifles War Memorial is a First World War memorial outside

Leeds Minster Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church) is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architectural and l ...

on Kirkgate in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

in northern England. The memorial was designed by

Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memoria ...

, one of 15 instances of his War Cross and the only one commissioned by a regiment. The memorial, dedicated to members of the

Leeds Rifles The Leeds Rifles was a unit of the 19th century Volunteer Force of the British Army that went on to serve under several different guises in the World Wars of the 20th century. In World War I both battalions served as infantry on the Western Fron ...

who fell in the First World War (with later additions for the Second World War), was unveiled on

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

, 13 November 1921, and is today a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Background

In the aftermath of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and its unprecedented casualties, thousands of war memorials were built across Britain. Amongst the most prominent designers of memorials was the architect

, described by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

as "the leading English architect of his generation". Lutyens designed

the Cenotaph The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War, was rededicated in 19 ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

in London, which became the focus for the national

commemorations, as well as the

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial to 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. It is near the ...

—the largest British war memorial anywhere in the world—and the Stone of Remembrance which appears in all large

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

cemeteries and in several of Lutyens' civic war memorials. As well as civic memorials, Lutyens designed multiple war memorials for private companies and individual regiments. The Leeds Rifles was the only regiment to choose Lutyens' War Cross design for its memorial, a design used mostly for civic memorials in towns and villages.

History and design

The memorial is a comparatively small version of the War Cross, set into the church wall of

and facing out onto Kirkgate. The Portland stone of the war memorial creates a contrast with the sandstone of the church wall. Because of the difference in level between the churchyard and the street, the memorial incorporates a stone bench which doubles as a platform for wreaths. At the height of the wall, the cross is surrounded on three sides by decorative iron railings with arrowhead finials.Skelton, p. 170. The base of the cross in inscribed "7TH AND 8TH BATTALIONS / WEST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT / THE PRINCE OF WALES'S OWN / LEEDS RIFLES / 45TH (LEEDS RIFLES) BATTALION / ROYAL TANK REGIMENT / 66TH (LEEDS RIFLES) HAA REGIMENT / ROYAL ARTILLERY"; at the level of the churchyard wall is the further inscription "TO THE MEN OF THE LEEDS RIFLES WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / 1914-1918 / 1939-1945" (the dates of the Second World War were added later). In bronze above the inscription is the cap badge of the Leeds Rifles, and below it are the regimental cap badges of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, the

Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...

, and the Royal Tank Regiment, in which volunteers of the Leeds Rifles served. Just to the east of the memorial is the East Bar stone, marking the former location of a bar (gate) in the town walls; the wall and bar stone are part of the same listing as the war memorial. The memorial was unveiled on

, 13 November 1921, by Captain

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...

, an officer of the Leeds Rifles who had earned a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

in the war. The Leeds Rifles War Memorial was designated a grade II

on 8 May 1974. In March 2015, as part of commemorations for the centenary of the First World War, Lutyens' war memorials were recognised as a "national collection" and all of his free-standing memorials in England were listed or had their listing status reviewed and their

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

list entries were updated and expanded.

References

* {{reflist Grade II listed monuments and memorials Grade II listed buildings in West Yorkshire Monuments and memorials in Leeds World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England Military history of West Yorkshire Works of Edwin Lutyens in England War memorials by Edwin Lutyens Buildings and structures completed in 1921

Background

History and design

See also

References