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Summary

A Grade II listed bronze statue of a woman in silent grief on a stone pedestal memorial in the garden at front entrance of offices. Commemorating the First and Second World Wars.

Monument Type(s):

• WAR MEMORIAL (Commemorates, Modern - 1914 AD to 1918 AD)
• WAR MEMORIAL (Commemorates, Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• WAR MEMORIAL (Erected, Modern - 1949 AD to 1949 AD)

Description

Bronze statue of a woman in silent grief on a stone pedestal memorial unveiled 11th Nov 1949 by Lietenant-Colonel J N Horlick in the garden at front entrance of offices. Commemorating the First and Second World Wars. Roman style lettering 25 names listed.

Thus we remember
1914-18
Blay,S., Guardsman, Coldstream Guards
Horlick,G.N., Major, Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
Keen,A., Rifleman, Rifle Brigade
Morton,A.V., Private, Oxf. & Bucks. Lt. Infty.
Swaine,H., Private, Royal Berkshire Regt.
Turton,A., Guardsman, Scots Guards
Wilson, D.W., Private, Royal Army Service Corps

1939-45
Allen,C., Corporal, The Life Guards
Bailey,D.W., Lieutenant, Royal Signals
Dennis,A., Private, Suffolk Regt.
Elward,R.V., Ordinary Seaman, Royal Navy
Franks,R., Pilot Officer, Royal Air Force
Hall,W.D., Private, Oxf. & Bucks. Lt. Infty.
Horlick,G.P.,Lieutenant, Royal Navy
Kellaway,C.C, Sergeant, Royal Air Force
Knight,W.J., Gunner, Royal Artillery
Merryman,G.R., Gunner, Royal Artillery
Monks,N.L.P., Sub-Lieutenant (S), Royal Naval Reserve
Sidney,I.D., Captain, Royal Signals
Thackeray,R.E.M., Captain, Duke of Wellington's Regt.
Upton, T.E., Private, Oxf. & Bucks. Lt. Infy.

SOMERSET STAFF
Rendall,C.V.G., Guardsman, Irish Guards

AUSTRALIAN STAFF
Binnie,K.C., Pilot Officer, Royal Australian Air Force
Powers,A,M., Captain, 36th Australian Infantry Battalion

BELGIAN STAFF
Antoine, A., Sergeant, Knight of the Order of Leopold II 29th Belgian Infantry Regt.

The names are of employees across the world who gave their lives during the two World Wars <1>.

The bronze sculpture entitled 'Grief' which forms the centre-piece of the monument was purchased at a cost of £2000 from the sculptor Sir William Reid Dick KCVO RA (1878-1961). The bronze statue is life size and depicts a tall and bare-footed female figure, wearing a long shawl. Her downward-tilted face carries an expression of grief, as she grips the shawl in her left hand and holds it to her lips.

The pedestal was probably also designed by Reid Dick, perhaps in collaboration with the company's architect THF Burditt (1886-1969). The stone base is in the form of a simplified classical stone pedestal which has a cyma recta moulding to the base, and a smaller version to the top. The main body of the pedestal is battered in profile, and reduces in size via three stepped bands as it extends up to the upper moulding. It stands upon a set of four stone steps, the first two of which are formed in a circle, while the upper two are square in plan.

The principal dedicatory inscription is on the south side and reads 'LEST WE FORGET'. There is also a subsidiary inscription below, which reads 'HORLICKS WAR MEMORIAL/TO THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/IN THE WARS OF/1914-1918 1939-1945'. The remaining sides are inscribed with the name, rank, and country of the 25 Horlicks employees who lost their lives in the First and Second World War <2>.

The war memorial has been assessed for listing by Historic England for addition to The National Heritage List for England <4>, and was designated Grade II status <5>.

The war memorial outside the entrance to the Horlicks offices in Slough, of 1949 with bronze sculpture by Sir William Reid Dick, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: Historic interest: * an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the Horlick family and employees, and the sacrifices they made in the conflicts of the C20. Architectural interest: * as an impressive carved stone monument surmounted by a bronze sculpture by the renowned C20 sculptor Sir William Reid Dick, a major figure, noted for his monumental public sculpture.

The War Memorial at the Horlicks Factory in Slough was sponsored by the company to honour their family members, and employees across the world who gave their lives during the First or Second World War. The monument was set within a memorial garden and dedicated on 11 November 1949 at a service conducted by the Rector of Slough. The monument was unveiled by Lieutenant-Colonel J N Horlick OBE MC, who was Chairman of Horlicks at the time. The commemorated include two members of the Horlick family.

Reid Dick (1879-1961) was a Scottish sculptor known for his innovative stylisation of form in his monumental sculptures and simplicity in his portraits. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art, and by 1908 he was studio assistant to E Whitney Smith in London. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1921, and a Royal Academician in 1928. Reid Dick served as president of the Royal Society of British Sculptors from 1933 to 1938. He was knighted by King George V in 1935, and was Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland to King George VI from 1938 until his death. Having served with the Royal Engineers in the First World War, his reputation for monumental sculpture was established, following war memorials at Bushey and Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire (1921, both Grade II-listed). His involvement in major commissions also included the Kitchener Memorial Chapel in the Cathedral Church of St Paul, London (1922-1925), and the lion sculpture for the Menin Gate, Ypres (1927) <4>.

<1> Alan Day, National Inventory of War Memorials. Horlicks Ltd War Memorial (Unpublished document). SSL12625.

<2> Historic England, 2018, Horlicks Factory, Slough, Berkshire - Consultation Report 1454187 (Unpublished document). SRM15499.

<3> Imperial War Museum, UK National Inventory of War Memorials, Reference 7839 (Index). SRM14689.

<4> Historic England, 2018, Advice Report: Horlicks Factory, Slough, Berkshire (Unpublished document). SRM15530.

<5> Historic England, The National Heritage List for England, List entry number: 1454798 (Index). SRD12029.

Sources

Designations

• Listed Building (II) 1454798: Horlicks War Memorial, Slough

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