Guest Keen and Nettlefolds (GKN) War Memorial is a Grade II listed building in the Sandwell local planning authority area, England. First listed on 16 January 2019. War memorial.
Guest Keen and Nettlefolds (GKN) War Memorial
- WRENN ID
- grim-column-cobweb
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Sandwell
- Constituency
- Smethwick MP: Gurinder Singh Josan (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 16 January 2019
- Type
- War memorial
- Address
- Guest Keen and Nettlefolds (GKN) War Memorial, Thimblemill Recreation Ground, Thimblemill Road, Smethwick, West Midlands, B67 6NR
- OS grid reference
- SP 013 871
- Coordinates
- 52.48234, -1.98224
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Guest Keen and Nettlefolds (GKN) War Memorial is a war memorial unveiled in 1924, designed by the architects Messrs Osborn, Pemberton and White, with a sculpture by Albert Toft.
The memorial features a bronze figure of a soldier with his head bowed, and a helmet and gas mask at his feet. Originally, the soldier's hands rested on a rifle, which is now missing as of 2018. The statue is mounted on a tall, stepped stone pedestal that has a square five-stepped base. The upper part of the pedestal includes recessed bronze plaques on each face, with bronze wreaths beneath them, although the medallions are missing. The plaque on the east face has an inscription in relief that reads: "TO THE/ EVERLASTING/ MEMORY OF/ THE MEN/ FROM THE MIDLAND WORKS/ OF GUEST KEEN &/ NETTLEFOLDS/ WHO LAID DOWN/ THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR/ KING & COUNTRY/ 1914 – 1919." The other plaques list the names of the 112 individuals who fell during the First World War.
The memorial is situated on a grassed area adjacent to a path.
Local climate
Guest Keen and Nettlefolds (GKN) War Memorial receives an average of 790 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 59% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 74% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 40 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 77% of listed buildings. Of these, 20 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
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