The WW1 memorial cottages still housing veterans

As World War One drew to a close, an architect was asked to design a memorial to his regiment that would also serve a practical need.

Norwich-based Cecil Upcher served in the 9th Battalion the Norfolk Regiment and had been "deeply affected by his experience", said curator Kate Thaxton.

The memorial was a set of homes for the regiment's disabled veterans and their families in Sprowston, on the outskirts of Norwich. More than a century on, they still house veterans.

Thaxton said: "There's something particularly nice about a memorial that still fulfils a need today and that I think is a great legacy."

Upcher was wounded in his first action in 1915 and upon his return to the Western Front, lost many close friends at Ypres in Belgium.

"He was then removed to convalesce, having had what they described as shell-shock; his nerves had been shattered by what he'd been going through," said Thaxton, who is curator of the Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum in Norwich.

For the rest of his life, Upcher maintained a close connection with his former regiment.

"I think the bonds that are forged between servicemen in periods of conflict, particularly in an infantry regiment where you are utterly dependent on the man on your left and the man on your right, are incredibly strong and a shared experience that stays with them," she explained.

About 6,000 men from the Norfolk Regiment were killed in the conflict and many more injured.

The driving force behind the Norfolk Regiment Memorial Cottages was its colonel, Gen Sir Edward Strickland, and it was paid for by regimental fundraisers.

Thaxton said: "He was determined that the memorial should serve a practical purpose for men who survived the conflict and really be a positive force locally."

Upcher initially designed 10 two-storey semi-detached cottages, which were opened in 1921, with two further cottages added later.

They were designed to create a small community, close to the fresh and healthy environment of Mousehold Heath and the regiment's barracks, and offered residents the up-to-date modern convenience of running water.

Thaxton said one of the first men to move in was Pte Lancelot Ladbrook, who had received a deep wound in his stomach, which was covered by a metal plate.

"On the Western Front, he had had to hold his insides from being spilt out by using a bayonet and a tourniquet; I mean, it really gives you an idea of how grisly and grim it was and it's remarkable he did survive," she said.

Upcher was also commissioned to build more memorial cottages on the same site for the regiment, by now called the Royal Norfolk Regiment, at the end of World War Two.

He consulted the WW1 veterans ahead of the design process and as a result, they are very different.

Thaxton said: "To begin with, they are bungalows, so there are no stairs to deal, and it's more generous in terms of doorways, so it's just more practical for somebody who finds movement tricky."

The Royal Norfolk Regiment ceased to exist in 1959, but its regimental association continued to run the homes until 2003.

They were then transferred to Haig Housing, a charity which owns more than 1,500 properties across the UK for ex-services personnel.

Patrick Lyster-Todd, its fundraising manager, said: "Our residents love living there and we're very proud to have them and very proud that they are, in themselves, a living memorial to those Norfolk men who gave their lives or suffered injuries during the two world wars."

Haig Housing's roots go back to the creation of the Douglas Haig Memorial Homes, named in memory of Field Marshal Earl Haig, commander in chief of British forces during WW1.

Lyster-Todd said: "Even in this day and age, there is an enormous demand for housing for veterans - we are only able to home one in nine of those eligible applicants."

Today, the veterans who live in the Norfolk Regiment Memorial Cottages could have served in the Army, RAF or Royal Navy.

More than a century after the first 10 opened, they continue to serve the purpose for which they were built - providing a safe haven and a living community for ex-services personnel and their families.

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