War memorial mystery

12 March 2010

The plaque that was left at Hornchurch Cenotaph

A MYSTERY memorial plaque bearing the names of 17 servicemen who died during the first and second world wars has been found dumped in Hornchurch.

The huge gunmetal tablet, measuring 40 inches by 30 inches, was discovered by David King, president of the Hornchurch branch of the Royal British Legion, as he tidied wreaths at the Hornchurch cenotaph, beside St Andrew's Church, in High Street, last month

He said: "I want it returned to the place where it came from. These men belong there; they died for their communities as well as all of us."

The memorial remembers 13 men from World War One, and four men from World War Two - none of whom appear on local rolls of honour.

It's poignant inscription, which appears on ten other memorials across the country, is from the poem, 'To Our Soldiers, Our Sailors, and Our Airmen' by Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. It reads: 'These died in war that we at peace might live. These gave their best, so we our best must give.'

Spearheading the search is Mike Long, parade marshal of the Legion, who has so far identified six of the men on the list - all of whom have links to Waltham Abbey in Essex, and Edmonton in north London.

However, he says he is no closer to uncovering where the plague was originally mounted.

"My feeling is that it's come from a building - either a church or possibly from a sports club - and somebody has suddenly had an attack of conscience and left it where they knew it would be found by the right people.

"But, without knowing exactly where it's come from, we don't know how long it's been missing; it could be weeks, months or even years."

He has posted information on popular World War Two forum www.ww2talk.com which has elicited a 13-page thread of comments, but no firm leads. The memorial is now resting at St Andrew's Church until it can be returned to its rightful home.

A spokesman for the UK National Inventory of War Memorials, based at the Imperial War Museum in south-east London, said it had no record of the plaque, though a similar one appears in Beckington, Somerset.

She added: "We rely on volunteer fieldworkers and the general public to send us details of war memorials, so if this one has been in private hands or locked away in storage, we may not have a record of it. We were hoping for some more information before we added it to the inventory."

Anyone with information about the mystery plaque is asked to contact the Hornchurch Royal British Legion on 01708 457840.