On Saturday 6 September 2025, in sleepy Leek, Queen of the Staffordshire Moorlands, we were given a timely reminder of the true cost of ignoring the warning signs of populism and fascism. A ceremony took place to commemorate the centenary of the Nicholson War Memorial, a proud and iconic landmark in the centre of Leek.
The memorial, one of the tallest war memorials in the country, carries the names of 535 men and women of Leek and the Staffordshire Moorlands who died in the two World Wars fighting for democracy and against dictatorship and extremism.
The Leek Battery of the Royal Field Artillery
The memorial was commissioned by Sir Arthur Nicholson, a Leek silk manufacturer, and his wife Lady Marianne, in memory of their son, Lieutenant Basil Lee Nicholson, who died at Ypres in 1915, along with other local Leek men. Basil, who was only 24 when he was killed in action, was an officer in the Leek Battery of the Royal Field Artillery, along with his brother Falkner who survived the war and was present at the unveiling of the memorial on 20 August 1925.
At the unveiling, Sir Arthur said of the memorial, “I now leave it in your care and keeping, and in that of the public of Leek, in the earnest hope and faith that it will be cherished and prized for all time”.
The good people of Leek
The people of Leek have honoured the trust that Sir Arthur placed in them. The memorial was renovated between 2010 and 2012 with funding from the Heritage Lottery Foundation, and alterations made to the interior to allow public access. Today, to mark the centenary, the people of Leek took part in a parade and rededication of the memorial, and renewed the town’s “commitment to peace and remembrance”.
The folly of war
At the 1925 ceremony, the dedication plaque was unveiled by Lieutenant General Sir Charles Harrington who said “… soldiers are more for the preservation of peace. By the erection of such a permanent reminder of the horrors of war it is unlikely that the millions of sufferers will permit such folly a second time”.
Sadly the warning signs of the 1930s were ignored, and in September 1939 the world again went to war; dozens more names were added to the Nicholson Memorial.
Will we “…permit such folly” a third time? Today’s ceremony was incredibly moving. Not just because of the 535 names on the monument, but because, at present, we can’t answer that question.
