The Nicholson War Memorial in

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

, Staffordshire, England is a 1925

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

. It was commissioned by local manufacturer Sir Arthur Nicholson and his wife Lady Marianne, ''née'' Falkner, in memory of their son Lieutenant Basil Lee Nicholson, who was killed in action at

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

, Belgium, in 1915, at the age of 24; and in memory of all the other local men who died fighting in

World War I 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 ...

. It now has plaques commemorating and naming 535 Leek and district men and women who died during World War I and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is one of the tallest war memorials in the country at and was restored in 2010–2012.

Structure and design

It is a

Grade II listed 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 ...

building in the form of a red-brick tower clad in

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

, with four diameter, illuminated clock faces. There are decorative

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

gates and lamp standards. It was designed by Thomas Worthington & Sons, of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, with tablets designed by The Birmingham Guild of Artists. It was built by Messrs E & A Frith of

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

and Mr Thomas Grace of Leek. The

ironwork Ironwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil, or architectural feature made of iron, especially one used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork: wrought iron and cast iron. While the use of iron dates as far back as 4000BC, it was th ...

was made by a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

called Mr Hart, of

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

. The clock mechanism and the five bells were made by

Gents' of Leicester Honeywell Gent, formerly Gents' of Leicester, is a British manufacturer of life safety equipment based in Leicester, England. Established by John Thomas Gent, the company is thought to have started in 1872 however it could have been trading as earl ...

. The bells weigh in total.

Dedication

The memorial was officially opened and dedicated on Thursday 20 August 1925 at 2.30 pm. A Thursday was chosen as it was the day of half-day closing for local shops. Many local factories also closed that afternoon, as a mark of respect. Basil's brother Lt Colonel Arthur Falkner Nicholson (known as Falkner Nicholson) presided at the dedication. The other surviving brother, Lt Col Malcolm Nicholson, was also present. A dedication tablet was unveiled by Lieutenant General Sir Charles Harington, at the time General Officer Commanding, Northern Command, and the dedication was by Lionel Crawfurd, the Bishop of Stafford. Two memorial tablets listing the names of the dead were unveiled by two

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

s, who had each lost their father during the war, Frank Prime and Cyril Plant. Plant died during World War II, serving with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. At the ceremony, the

deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...

s to the land and the building were presented to the Trustees of the Leek Town Lands and to Leek Urban District Council, who agreed to accept responsibility for the memorial on behalf of the people of Leek. Leek Town Council inherited that responsibility on their formation in 1974. Around the top of the memorial are the names of battles involving the 46th (North Midland) Division, which included the Old Leek Battery and the Territorial 1/5th and 1/6th Battalions of the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

s, in which men form Leek served.

Restoration

Following a £178,000 grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

the tower was restored by Prestec Ltd. of Lichfield and the clock mechanism replaced. Alterations were made to the interior of the building, to allow public access. It reopened for public tours in 2012. Guided tours are provided by members of a voluntary group, The Friends of the Nicholson War Memorial. The original clock mechanism is now on display in a local museum.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.nicholsonmemorial.org.uk/ World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England Monuments and memorials in Staffordshire Buildings and structures in Leek Clock towers in the United Kingdom 1925 establishments in England Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire Towers completed in 1925