Memorial details

Memorial type
Board / Plaque / Tablet
District
Nottingham
Town
Nottingham
County
Nottinghamshire
Country
England
Commemoration
Second World War - civilians
Ceremony
  • Placed
    Date: c1952
    Attended by:
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
27

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Current location

Capital One (site of former Boots Co Ltd Printing Works)
35 Station Street
Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG1 7HW
England

OS Grid Ref: SK 57642 39287
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Description
Stone tablet with incised gilt lettering, set into the external wall on the corner of the building.
Inscription
THIS BUILDING COMPLETED ON DECEMBER 1ST 1952/ REPLACES A GROUP OF BUILDINGS DESTROYED BY/ ENEMY ACTION ON THE NIGHT OF MAY THE 8TH 1941/ THE FOLLOWING EMPLOYEES OF BOOTS PURE DRUGS CO LTD/ GAVE THEIR LIVES CARRYING OUT THEIR DUTIES/ (Names)
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Daykin, William
Needham, Derek
Sedgewick, Eric
Towle, Harold
See details for all 4 names
Commemorations
  • Second World War - civilians
    Total names on memorial: 4
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 4
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Forename, surname, age
    Order of information: Alphabetical by surname
Components
  • Tablet
    Measurements: depth 20MM, height 300MM, width 800MM
    Materials: Stone
  • Tablet
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Stone
Listing information
Condition
History
1998: During remodelling of the building, Capital One had the memorial refurbished and re-gilded, before fixing it into its current position, 7 feet above the ground, on the corner of the building.// 1952: Memorial incorporated into the building during construction, set two feet above the ground.
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Sponsorship
Corporate
Details: Boots pure drug company LTD built the plaque
Reference
  • Nottingham Evening News, Wednesday 22nd April 1959 (page 4): Their report on plans for a printing works on an alternative site included mention that: 'The building will be fifth major construction carried out by Boots at Nottingham since end of the war. A large printing works, power house, a warehouse block and the latest £750,000 biological research and standards laboratory have been built since 1945. The office block is being erected on part of the site of the old printing works which was destroyed in an enemy raid on Nottingham 1941...' www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004907/19590422/004/0004
  • www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/289297/
  • Nottingham Evening Post, Monday 14th December 1998 (page 17) printed a photo of the memorial, captioned 'PRIDE OF PLACE: Capital One project co-ordinator Richard Eastwood with the restored and repositioned plaque'; the main report read: 'Blitz tribute to workers is restored. A PLAQUE honouring four workers killed during Notts' worst air raid has been rescued from building work and restored. The plaque, 2ft off the ground outside the front entrance to the former Boots building in Station Street, Nottingham, was due to be covered over by planned changes to the doorway. It and the rest of the building are being remodelled by new owners Capital One. William Daykin, 35; Derek Needham, 16; Eric Sedgewick, 27, and Harold Towle, 21, were killed when the original Boots printing works was destroyed during the Nottingham Blitz of May 8 1941. The stone plaque measuring 3ft by 1ft 6in was fixed to the wall and dedicated when the present building was built on the bombed site in 1952. Changes to the doorway as part of Capital One's conversion work would have hidden it from view. But instead the company has decided to spruce-up and reposition the plaque to preserve part of the city's war history. It has been placed seven feet above the ground on the corner of the building to make it more prominent. The plaque has been cleaned up and the lettering regilded. Capital One spokesman Patrick Nelson said: "We didn't want to see the plaque disappear. It is part of Nottingham's history." The Nottingham Blitz was by far the worst of the 11 air raids suffered by the city during the Second World War. Bombing by 95 enemy aircraft destroyed buildings across an area stretching from the edge of Mapperley Park across the Lace Market, Carlton, Sneinton and The Meadows. Construction work at Capital One will continue for the next two years to make room for 900 staff. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003894/19981214/017/0017
  • Nottingham Guardian, Saturday 1st July 1961 (Page 9); their retrospective of war events included a monochrome photo of the bomb damage, captioned: 'THE BURNT-OUT SHELL. Boots' printing works after an air-raid on Nottingham in May 1941, during which 159 people killed and 274 were injured'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004722/19610701/009/0009
  • Nottingham Journal, Wednesday 2nd January 1946 (Page 3); their report under the headline 'BIG REBUILDING SCHEME' included the paragraph: 'The “Journal’’ learns that Boots have an application before the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Works for permission to rebuild their printing department, which was entirely destroyed in the heavy German air raid of 9 May 1941, at a total cost £773,000. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001898/19460102/065/0003

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

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© WMR-27

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