Local history

War Memorial on the banks of the Trent

The War Memorial, located on the embankment, was constructed during the 1920s to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Great War.

It was commissioned by Jesse Boot as a gift to the city and designed by the city architect at the time.

The memorial is made from Portland stone, it has a colonnade and a triumphal arch akin to those from Ancient Rome.

Local historian Chris Matthews believes that whilst it commemorates the dead, it wallows too much in victory. He says:

"[The memorial] says 'we won the war, we are victorious'...

Nottingham coat-of-arms on War Memorial

"On the continent there were new styles of art emerging which were seeking to do away with the past, to build a brave new world after the horrors of the first world war, which the [war memorial] isn't doing.

"It's commemorating the dead but it's also saying we're victorious [and] our current social system is perfectly fine."

Treaty of Versailles

However, the first world war, which was supposed to end all wars, in fact led to the second world war in 1939.

In 1919, the Germans were severely punished by France, Britain and the USA, with the peace settlement known as the Treaty of Versailles.

Buoyed with victory, the Allies ordered Germany to accept sole responsibility for the war and pay reparations, a total cost of £6,600 million.

It crippled Germany and as a consequence the country became a breeding ground for extremists like Hitler and the Nazis.

Chris believes we should change our attitudes about war and look at the shortcomings of the Treaty of Versailles and what it led to.

"A lot of people go around saying 'we won the war'. I think that's a very blind attitude and doesn't do anything to remember the causes of war.

"I think we would do better to remember the Treaty of Versailles with equal publicity."