engineering

Leeds War Memorial

Leeds War Memorial is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Leeds War Memorial rather than just read about it. In short: Leeds War Memorial stands on Victoria Square on the Headrow, to the east of Town Hall and to the south of Leeds City Art Gallery in Leeds, England. It was erected as a memorial to those who had fallen in the First World War.

Key takeaways

Leeds War Memorial belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Leeds War Memorial to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Leeds War Memorial from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Leeds War Memorial stands on Victoria Square on the Headrow, to the east of Town Hall and to the south of Leeds City Art Gallery in Leeds, England. It was erected as a memorial to those who had fallen in the First World War. The memorial was designed by Henry Charles Fehr (1867–1940) and unveiled on 14 October 1922 by Viscount Lascelles.

History

Following the First World War the Royal Academy invited sculptors to submit models for war memorials. Fehr submitted a design less conventional than the more traditional cenotaph memorials. The design was successful and adopted most notably by Leeds but also by Eastbourne, Lisburn and Lockerbie. The memorial was initially erected in City Square before being relocated to Victoria Square off the Headrow.

Relocation Until the 1930s the site now occupied by Victoria Square was occupied by buildings. From the late nineteenth century, Leeds Corporation had sought to widen Park Lane to create the boulevard now known as The Headrow. This scheme had begun with the demolition and relocation of Leeds Cathedral prior to the First World War. In 1936 it was decided as part of this scheme to create a garden of rest in front of the municipal buildings on the Headrow of the central library and art gallery. Previously this site had been occupied by Wharton's Hotel and the offices of the Leeds Permanent Building Society (which subsequently moved adjacent to the buildings now occupied by The Light). In January 1937 it was decided to relocate the memorial into the new garden of rest to accommodate new traffic arrangements on City Square. The garden of rest was officially opened by Lord Mayor of Leeds, Tom Coombs, following which the war memorial was re-dedicated.

Removal during the Second World War A crack was found in the obelisk in 1940, following which the decision was taken to remove the memorial for repairs and it was duly taken down in 1940. Owing to concerns about potential bomb damage during the Leeds Blitz the memorial remained in storage until being replaced in 1946.

Deterioration, removal again and refurbishment Further damage was sustained from wind resulting in the angel of victory statue being removed again in 1965. In 1967 the memorial was capped with marble. The winged victory statue was then relocated to Cottingley Crematorium where it continued to deteriorate to a point beyond repair by which time it was removed in November 1988. The head of the statue is all which presently survives and is part of the Leeds Sculpture Collection. The memorial remained without a crowning statue until in 1990 it was decided a replacement should be commissioned. Rather than a replica, a more conciliatory design was favoured in the form of the statue of the Angel of Peace. This was designed by sculptor Ian Judd and was dedicated at a Remembrance Day ceremony on 10 November 1991.

Description The memorial is of a marble 'pyramid' obelisk topped with a bronze angel of peace holding roses. The angel was added in 1992 as a replacement for Fehr's original angel of victory with a sword and wreath which was damaged during a storm. This was similar to the angels currently atop of war memorials in Colchester and Eastbourne. The obelisk is flanked by 'Peace releasing a dove' on the north side and 'Saint George and the Dragon' on the south. The corners of the obelisk are adorned with owls; being the heraldic symbol of the City of Leeds.

Inscriptions The memorial is inscribed on all sides

Invictis Pax (north face) Ovr Gloriovs Dead (west face) Honovr to the Fallen (east face) Pro Patria (south face) 1914–1918 (north-west corner) 1939–1945 (south-west corner)

Today

Today the memorial is the centre of Leeds' remembrance day obligations. Adjacent to the memorial are mountings for three flag poles which are brought in for the ceremony.

See also Listed buildings in Leeds (City and Hunslet Ward - northern area)

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leeds War Memorial

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leeds War Memorial claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Leeds War Memorial before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Leeds War Memorial ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Leeds War Memorial

In research: Leeds War Memorial appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Leeds War Memorial in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Leeds War Memorial is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bronze sculptures in England, Buildings and structures completed in 1922, Cenotaphs in the United Kingdom, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leeds War Memorial outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Leeds War Memorial in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Leeds War Memorial means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Leeds War Memorial out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Leeds War Memorial in simple terms?

Why does Leeds War Memorial matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Leeds War Memorial?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Leeds War Memorial.