British Thomson-Houston Company War Memorial

Last updated

British Thomson-Houston Company War Memorial
United Kingdom
British Thompson-Houston Company War Memorial (02).jpg
For workers from the British Thomson-Houston Company killed in the First World War
Unveiled1921
Location 52°22′58″N1°15′18″W / 52.382745°N 1.255124°W / 52.382745; -1.255124
Technology Drive, Rugby, Warwickshire
Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens
IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THE BRITISH THOMSON-HOUSTON COY WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WARS
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameBritish Thomson-Houston Company War Memorial
Designated13 June 2007
Reference no. 1392027

The British Thomson-Houston Company War Memorial is a First World War memorial in Rugby, Warwickshire, in the West Midlands of England. It was erected by the British Thomson-Houston Company in memory of the firm's employees who left to fight in the First World War and were killed in service. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1921 and is now a grade II* listed building. [1]

Contents

Background

In the aftermath of the First World War and its unprecedented casualties, thousands of war memorials were built across Britain. Amongst the most prominent designers of memorials was the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, described by Historic England as "the leading English architect of his generation". Lutyens designed the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, which became the focus of the national Remembrance Sunday commemorations, as well as the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing—the largest British war memorial anywhere in the world—and the Stone of Remembrance which appears in all large Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries and in several of Lutyens's civic war memorials. The Thomson-Houston Company memorial is one of 15 War Crosses by Lutyens, all of which share a similar design. [1]

British Thomson-Houston was an engineering firm based in Rugby, majority owned by General Electric. During the First World War, the Rugby factory produced components for the Royal Navy, including signalling and radio equipment. The memorial is dedicated to the 243 company employees who were killed fighting in the First World War and was later rededicated to include 175 employees killed in the Second World War. [1]

The British Thomson-Houston memorial was one of six war memorials designed by Lutyens for a private company, the others being the large Midland Railway and North Eastern Railway memorials in Derby and York respectively, and smaller indoor memorials for Imperial Tobacco, the London Assurance Company, and Lloyd's of London. [2]

History and design

View from the side showing the names inscribed on the plinth British Thompson-Houston Company War Memorial (07).jpg
View from the side showing the names inscribed on the plinth

The board of the British Thomson-Houston Company met in April 1921 and delegated responsibility for commissioning a suitable war memorial to its chairman. The memorial was unveiled six months later on 29 October 1921 by Field Marshal Sir William Robertson and dedicated by the Archdeacon of Warwick. During construction, undertaken by local builders' firm J Parnell & Son Ltd, a time capsule containing information about the company and its war records was buried beneath the memorial. the total cost of erecting the memorial was £3,243 (1921). [1] [2]

Following Lutyens' War Cross design, the British Thomson-Houston Company War Memorial consists of a single cross, 7.3 metres (24 feet) high in Portland stone, with short arms set near the top of the tapering shaft. The cross is moulded to a base of four uneven square steps and a square plinth, which itself sits on a 7.5 metres (25 feet) diameter plinth—making it unusual among Lutyens' memorials. The main inscription on the monument, on the square plinth, reads "IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THE BRITISH THOMSON-HOUSTON COY WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WARS", with the dates of the two world wars inscribed to either side; below is the dedication "THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE". The names of the fallen are recorded on the round plinth. [1]

When unveiled, the memorial sat at the former entrance to the British Thomson-Houston factory on Mill Road. The site was redeveloped in 2010 and the memorial was relocated to a site around 400 metres (1,300 feet) away on Technology Drive, formerly occupied by the firm's electrical engineering works. [1]

The memorial was designated a grade II listed building on 13 June 2007. In October 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 list entries were updated and expanded. As part of this process, the British Thomson-Houston Company War Memorial was upgraded to grade II* listed building status. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochdale Cenotaph</span> War memorial in Rochdale, Greater Manchester

Rochdale Cenotaph is a First World War memorial on the Esplanade in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, in the north west of England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it is one of seven memorials in England based on his Cenotaph in London and one of his more ambitious designs. The memorial was unveiled in 1922 and consists of a raised platform bearing Lutyens' characteristic Stone of Remembrance next to a 10-metre (33 ft) pylon topped by an effigy of a recumbent soldier. A set of painted stone flags surrounds the pylon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African War Memorial, Richmond Cemetery</span> First World War memorial in London, England

The South African War Memorial is a First World War memorial in Richmond Cemetery in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial is in the form of a cenotaph, similar to that on Whitehall, also by Lutyens. It was commissioned by the South African Hospital and Comforts Fund Committee to commemorate the 39 South African soldiers who died of their wounds at a military hospital in Richmond Park during the First World War. The memorial was unveiled by General Jan Smuts in 1921 and was the focus of pilgrimages from South Africa through the 1920s and 1930s, after which it was largely forgotten until the 1980s when the Commonwealth War Graves Commission took responsibility for its maintenance. It has been a grade II listed building since 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northampton War Memorial</span> First World War memorial on Wood Hill in the centre of Northampton, England

Northampton War Memorial, officially the Town and County War Memorial, is a First World War memorial on Wood Hill in the centre of Northampton, the county town of Northamptonshire, in central England. Designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, it is a Stone of Remembrance flanked by twin obelisks draped with painted stone flags standing in a small garden in what was once part of the churchyard of All Saints' Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York City War Memorial</span> Grade II* listed memorial in York, England

The York City War Memorial is a First World War memorial designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and located in York in the north of England. Proposals for commemorating York's war dead originated in 1919 but proved controversial. Initial discussions focused on whether a memorial should be a monument or should take on some utilitarian purpose. Several functional proposals were examined until a public meeting in January 1920 opted for a monument. The city engineer produced a cost estimate and the war memorial committee engaged Lutyens, who had recently been commissioned by the North Eastern Railway (NER) to design their own war memorial, also to be sited in York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Eastern Railway War Memorial</span> First World War memorial in York, England

The North Eastern Railway War Memorial is a First World War memorial in York in northern England. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens to commemorate employees of the North Eastern Railway (NER) who left to fight in the First World War and were killed while serving. The NER board voted in early 1920 to allocate £20,000 for a memorial and commissioned Lutyens. The committee for the York City War Memorial followed suit and also appointed Lutyens, but both schemes became embroiled in controversy. Concerns were raised from within the community about the effect of the NER memorial on the city walls and its impact on the proposed scheme for the city's war memorial, given that the two memorials were planned to be 100 yards apart and the city's budget was a tenth of the NER's. The controversy was resolved after Lutyens modified his plans for the NER memorial to move it away from the walls and the city opted for a revised scheme on land just outside the walls; coincidentally the land was owned by the NER, whose board donated it to the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Island War Memorial</span> War memorial in Northumberland, England

Holy Island War Memorial, or Lindisfarne War Memorial, is a First World War memorial on the tidal island of Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumberland in the far north east of England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial is a grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Busbridge War Memorial</span> War memorial in Busbridge, Surrey, England, UK

Busbridge War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the churchyard of St John's Church in the village of Busbridge, Surrey, in south-eastern England. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1922. It is one of several structures in the area for which Lutyens was responsible. His connection to Busbridge began in the 1880s when he partnered with Gertrude Jekyll, a local artist and gardener who lived at nearby Munstead Wood; the relationship led to many commissions for Lutyens for country houses in the early days of his career. Lutyens became renowned for his war memorial work after designing the Cenotaph in London, which he named after a garden seat at Munstead Wood. Busbridge is one of several war memorials he designed in connection with his pre-war work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Cenotaph</span> First World War memorial in Maidstone in Kent, England

The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Cenotaph is a First World War memorial dedicated to members of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment and located in Maidstone in Kent, south-eastern England. Unveiled in 1921, the memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens following his design for the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London and is today a grade II* listed building.

The Royal Berkshire Regiment War Memorial or Royal Berkshire Regiment Cenotaph is a First World War memorial dedicated to members of the Royal Berkshire Regiment and located in Brock Barracks in Reading, Berkshire, in south-east England. Unveiled in 1921, the memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, based on his design for the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, and is today a grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds Rifles War Memorial</span> First World War memorial outside Leeds Minster in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England

The Leeds Rifles War Memorial is a First World War memorial outside Leeds Minster on Kirkgate in Leeds, West Yorkshire in northern England. The memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, 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 who fell in the First World War, was unveiled on Remembrance Sunday, 13 November 1921, and is today a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fordham War Memorial</span> Fordham, East Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire, CB7

Fordham War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the village of Fordham in Cambridgeshire in eastern England. The memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens with sculpture by Sir George Frampton and closely resembles Hove War Memorial in East Sussex, which was also a collaboration between Lutyens and Frampton. It was unveiled in 1921 and is today a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Swell War Memorial</span>

Lower Swell War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the centre of the village of Lower Swell in Gloucestershire in south-western England. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was unveiled in 1921 and is today a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miserden War Memorial</span>

Miserden War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the village of Miserden, near Stroud, in Gloucestershire, south-western England. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, is today a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abinger Common War Memorial</span> War memorial in Abinger, Surrey, UK

Abinger Common War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the village of Abinger Common in Surrey, south-eastern England. The memorial was destroyed by a German bomb during the Second World War and rebuilt in the late 1940s. One of 15 war crosses by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it is a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartburn War Memorial</span> World War I memorial in England

Hartburn War Memorial is a First World War Memorial in the village of Hartburn, Northumberland, in the north-east of England. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was unveiled in 1921 and is today a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Somborne War Memorial</span>

King's Somborne War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the village of King's Somborne in Hampshire in southern England. The memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1921; it is a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockbridge War Memorial</span>

Stockbridge War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the town of Stockbridge in Hampshire in southern England. The memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1921; it is a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muncaster War Memorial</span> War memorial in Muncaster, England

Muncaster War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the parish of Muncaster on the west coast of Cumbria in the far north-west of England. The memorial is one of fifteen War Crosses designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens; it was unveiled in 1922 and is now a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wargrave War Memorial</span>

Wargrave War Memorial is First World War memorial in the village of Wargrave in Berkshire, south-eastern England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial was unveiled in 1922 and is today a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandhurst War Memorial</span>

Sandhurst War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the village of Sandhurst in Kent, south-eastern England, close to the border with East Sussex. The memorial is one of fifteen War Crosses by Sir Edwin Lutyens and arguably the one with the most elaborate setting. It was unveiled in 1923 and is today a grade II listed building.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.