Hinckley War Memorial

The Hinckley War Memorial, designed by John Alfred Gotch in 1922, consists of a limestone pillar and wall. The pillar features an octagonal shaft set on three steps with a moulded base, inscribed with the words 'TO KEEP IN MIND THOSE FROM THIS PLACE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR, 1914 -1919'. Above this inscription is a bulbous band adorned with an inscribed strapwork frieze of crosses, which includes central roundels supporting the octagonal corniced base of the shaft. The top of the shaft is decorated with a strapwork frieze beneath a moulded cornice, and the bronze statue of the Angel of Mercy stands atop a smaller octagonal pedestal, flanked by four square pillars or ‘antae’. The statue depicts a robed female figure representing peace, wearing a laurel wreath and extending her hands as if to bless.

To the north of the statue is a wall with a bolection moulded base, accessible via a wide flight of limestone steps. The central section of the wall is divided into seven panels, with bronze panels on the left and right displaying the names of those lost in the First World War in relief. The central panel features a simple inscribed stone cross. Below the names is the inscription 'THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR', and above them, the frieze is carved with 'THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVER MORE'. At the base of the wall, bronze panels commemorate those who died in the Second World War. Additional plaques have been added to the left and right of the wall, listing the names of Hinckley residents lost to terrorist actions since the Second World War.