Green Plaque honour for Hugglescote war poet

The unveiling is taking place on 29 August

A soldier from Hugglescote who wrote poetry in the trenches of France and Flanders, is to be honoured with a green plaque.

Arthur Newberry Choyce was born in Hugglescote in 1897 and educated at the local school. He enrolled at Nottingham University in 1913 and joined the University Training Corps, which allowed him to complete his studies in English, history and maths.

After graduating, he enlisted as a private in the Royal Fusiliers, but soon joined the Leicestershire Regiment as a Second Lieutenant in the 9th Battalion. By that time, his poetry was already being published in national magazines such as Country Life and he was appointed as the Regiment’s official war poet.

Arthur was soon leading his men in the trenches of France and Flanders, where he continued to write poetry documenting the horrors of the First World War. During one ferocious battle, he was badly injured in the arm and spent 20 hours in a shell hole awaiting rescue and was invalided back home to Hugglescote.

Following his return to Hugglescote, Arthur became a teacher at Bridge Road School in Coalville and later, headmaster at Snibston Primary School. He continued to write and publish poetry. 

Arthur’s first book of poetry, Crimson Stains, was published in 1917. The book and the stories about Arthur’s inspirational leadership led to a lecture tour in the USA, during which a second volume of poetry, Memory Poems of War and Love, was published.

He died in 1937 at the age of 43, of an illness believed to have been the result of his wartime experiences and was buried in Hugglescote cemetery. His work is on show at The Royal Leicestershire Regiment Museum in Leicester.

On Thursday, 29 August, Lt Arthur Newberry Choyce is to be honoured with the unveiling of a green plaque at Hugglescote Community Centre, formerly Hugglescote School, where he was a pupil. 

Two people nominated Arthur for the award - his great-nephew Michael Kendrick and Llynda Baugh from Hugglescote & Donington le Heath Parish Council.

Michael said: “I’m delighted that my great-uncle Arthur is to receive a Leicestershire County Council green plaque. He was a brave soldier who wrote poetry in the trenches of France and Flanders during WWI, and I am so proud that people have voted for him to receive this honour.”

Llynda said: “I nominated Arthur Newberry Choyce, not because of a bravery that was shared by thousands of soldiers, but because of what else he did.  None of us will ever know the suffering that those men experienced, but whatever Arthur saw and endured, still, he managed to create beauty with his flowing words and recorded them for us all to perhaps better understand what happened 100 years ago.  

“I am sure that his writing kept him focused on coming home and kept up the spirits of those around him.  How sad, though, that he died at such a young age from the conditions he was exposed to.  I wanted to recognise and highlight the little boy that once attended school in Hugglescote, who grew up and became Arthur Newberry Choyce, Leicestershire’s great war poet.”

Arthur Newberry Choyce was an immensely courageous man who served his country with distinction, touched countless people with his poetry and toured America, but his heart always belonged in his home town of Hugglescote.

“He was born there, educated there, returned to live there after the war and is buried there. It is a fitting tribute that we are able to unveil a green plaque in his honour in the place he loved so much.

Person:Councillor Louise Richardson, cabinet member for green plaques