St Albans King's Road community unites to honour street's WW1 dead

King's Road resident and memorial organiser Judy Sutton said the unveiling of the memorial was a "testament to community"

A tribute to 15 men from a street who died during World War One has been unveiled after a five-year journey.

Last Post by artist Renato Niemis was installed on the side of 1 King's Road, in St Albans, Hertfordshire after residents united to make it happen.

Metal bricks depicting names, regiment and civilian occupation reflect those who died in the 1914-1918 conflict.

Organiser, Judy Sutton, said she was "a bit overwhelmed" and that it was a "testament to community".

"It's a privilege for us to be able to honour these men today," she said.

Last Post by artist Renato Niemishas been installed on the side of 1 King's Road, St Albans after the street's community united to make it happen

About 880,000 British forces died during World War One, about 6% of the adult male population and 12.5% of those serving.

Ms Sutton, who has lived in the road for 36 years, said the idea for a memorial came just before the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, when she was at a local history exhibition and noted the high number of names of the dead who had lived on her street.

The men, aged between 16 and 38, included three from one family.

The absent voter list during World War One listed 59 men from Kings Road in St Albans as away in the war

She said it was thought the 60-house street suffered the "highest number of losses of any" in the city, but there was no tribute.

"It was a huge amount of men and you can't imagine how the ripples would have impacted on everyone else here," she said.

"That level of sorrow is hard to imagine."

Each house where one of the men lived displayed their picture - including number 61 where Fred Henry lived

She said her "tiny little idea" for a tribute then "developed into something huge".

"It just went off and I had to run to keep up with it," she said.

Niemis, who also created Counting the Cost - a memorial sculpture for missing US warplanes - at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, told residents he was "happy to help" after they approached him in 2019.

Ms Sutton said his involvement "elevated it from memorial to work of art".

The cost of nearly £12,000 including a "nominal sum" from the artist, construction costs and other bills, was raised by fundraising events and other donations.

They included £910 from a neighbour, which represented £10 for each year of the life of his father who had lost seven uncles at the Somme.

Representatives from the Royal Anglian Regiment lowered their standards as the art work was unveiled on Saturday

It was hoped the memorial would be up by the end of 2020 and, while Covid did not help, getting permission from the homeowner's mortgage company and "futureproofing" the memorial's care also took time.

St Albans City Council will now maintain it as part of its memorial portfolio.

Ms Sutton said at the unveiling ceremony on Saturday that it was "a really proud day".

"I think it's a testament to community and how much everybody has contributed," she said.

"It was all hands to the pump, everyone has brought their own talents and expertise and their energy has driven it on, it's brilliant."

Jake Morris and Nicky Power, pictured with artist Renato Niemis, said they did not have to be persuaded to have the memorial installed on their home

Residents of number one, Nicki Power and Jake Morris, said they did not have to be persuaded to put the memorial on their wall.

"I think it was really the only place on the street it could go," Ms Power said.

"There was something very important about it being the entrance of the street and also the last gable that the men leaving would have seen as they walked away I would imagine."

Her partner, Mr Morris, said it was also "great to see how it's brought people together".

"And it really brings the stories to life, it's absolutely fantastic to keep their memory alive and share it," he said.

Artist Renato Niemis said the metal bricks depicting names, regiment and civilian occupation reflect those who died in the 1914-1918 conflict and "try and bring out the individual"

Each soldier's details, including their pre-war occupations are mentioned in the artwork "to try to bring out the individual", artist Niemis said, and "reflect that the men who died were the bricks and mortar of the road".

Ms Sutton added that this "really makes you think about the human cost of war".

"Just reading a name like Percy Cox and knowing he was a cowman, now you can picture him with his cows and you get the idea of what maybe his nature was like," she said.

"It just makes it more poignant."

Niemis said the memorial "reflects that the men who died were the bricks and mortar of the road"

She has written a book, with co-author Helen Little, containing the stories of all the men.

A letter from one of them - Private Ferdinand Henry of the 8th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment - uncovered during her research, was read out after the memorial was unveiled by his niece, Joan Stanley.

Judy Sutton said Fred Henry's letter home, that was read at the ceremony was "naïve and beautiful "

The missive to an aunt from her nephew - known as Fred, whose parents lived at number 61 - was written in France in June 1916 and said he was "in the pink" and that he "hopes to see you all after the war".

The 19-year-old died the following October, in a Boulogne military hospital about a month after he sustained a head wound.

"It's such a naïve and beautiful letter," Ms Sutton said, "it's where you can connect the past to the present."

Before revealing the memorial, Ms Stanley, 93, who was born in King's Road, said her mother, who was Fred's sister, had told her about him at a young age.

"I think it's absolutely marvellous after all these years... it's nice to have it to remember them all," she said.

Joan Stanley, 93, niece of Fred Henry, unveils the memorial

Drummer boy John Coleman of 25 Kings Road, whose grave is in St Albans' Hatfield Road cemetery, never actually made it to the front but died from Spanish flu before getting there

Who is commemorated?

• William Thomas Hunt, 38, - 2, Kings Rd

• John Edward Hunt, 21, - 3, Kings Rd

• Arthur William Peters, 30, - 7, Kings Rd

• William J Ashby, 23, - 8, Kings Rd

• Charles E Burridge, 34, - 15, Kings Rd

• Archie Faulder, 20, - 17, Kings Rd

• Philip William Hart, 23, - 21, Kings Rd

• Henry Charles Hart, 26, - 21, Kings Rd

• Ernest Hart, 32, - 21, Kings Rd

• John George Coleman, 16, - 25, Kings Rd

• Alfred Foster, 36, - 31, Kings Rd

• Edward R J Atkins, 29, - 39, Kings Rd

• George Edward Howard, 38, - 43, Kings Rd

• Percy William Cox, 25, - 55, Kings Rd

• Ferdinand H Henry, 19, - 61, Kings Rd

According to the UK Parliament website, 880,000 British forces died during World War One - 6% of the adult male population and 12.5% of those serving