Adding Names to Memorials

[Retired Dave]

Hello All,

 

I have mentioned my grandfather on the forum a number of times and received wonderful advice from a number of forum members on a number of topics.

 

My grandfather is buried in Northern France and has a grave and headstone - unlike so many thousands of men killed in The Great War.

 

I have not been able to trace any mention of him on any war memorial in the UK. He was from West Gorton in Manchester (but was in the King's Liverpool). I have made attempts to view memorials in that area without success and have come to the conclusion that he doesn't feature on any memorial. I know there is a project in process to produce a searchable database of the names on memorials - not a easy task.

 

What I am looking for is advice as to how one might get a name added to memorials - is it possible? and what evidence would be needed?

 

Dave

[gem22]

Dave

 

A few ideas come to mind that you may, or may not, have thought of when searching for a memorial. Have you tried any of the following:

The local press from that period (my local library has all the wartime newspapers on microfilm)

The local churches and the cathedral that covers that diocese (Ely cathedral has all the names of local war dead listed by parish)

Local councils (parish, district, or other, some have records)

Working men's clubs or similar institutions, our local one has a memorial board with the members listed

The local branch of TRBL as sometimes they have members who have done research; similarly local history societies, family history societies as these are often a fund of useful/useless information.

Good luck

Garth

 

[keithmroberts]

As Garth has suggested you need to consider the many local memorials in the area around his home, as well as possibly workplace memorials. Details of these will probably be accessible in Manchester libraries.

 

As to adding names - there are other threads that you can find here. memorials were set up by a variety of local committees as well as workplaces, schools, religious and social institutions, each determining its own policy as to who should be included. Many are still in the care of original groups, others are maintained by local authorities, or stored/displayed  in museums.  To add your G/F's name to a memorial you would have to determine the most appropriate, and contact the owners, with evidence associating your g/f with the institution or location. After that the owners decide    - some may be happy to add names, others will take the view that the original committee/policy outcomes should not be disturbed.

 

Good luck, but remember that in any case your G/F is commemorated in perpetuity by his named grave, and the CWGC debt of honour register.

 

Keith

[PaulC78]

Have you tried the Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society? They have an online database of war memorials in Greater Manchester.

 

http://www.mlfhs.org.uk/data/war_memorials.php

[John(txic)]

Dave,

 

I can only speak for my local authority, but our council does permit the addition of names to the war memorials in their charge.  Costs, however, will have to be borne by you.

 

It is possible he was commemorated, but when you think how many churches and schools have closed in your area there's less than a 50/50 chance it still survives.  You can search on the IWM's war memorial register, which in many cases includes a transcription of the names recorded thereon.

[BereniceUK]

Some WW1 memorial plaques and rolls of honour have become 'lost' over the decades, so keep in mind that his name may have been on one of those.

[Retired Dave]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions - I will chase them all and look at the links. I have already visited the main Gorton memorial and he doesn't appear there, but as you say many memorials have disappeared over the decades, especially those in churches and chapels. He was CofE, at least nominally, and I know that the CofE has tried to arrange for a board to be re-sited when churches have closed, but I guess some will have slipped by the wayside. He was killed 5 weeks from the end of the war - did that have an effect on whether he made the memorial? - I have no idea.

 

I have copied the details of all the listed memorials, on the mlfhs website (Paul's link above) which leads to the IWM site, in the Gorton area and although I live in Eastern England, my daughter lives near Stockport, so I will visit all those on my next visit to her.

 

I have set myself the task of finding or getting his name on somewhere by the centenary of his falling (8th October 2018), along with the centenary event I have advertised for the Forenville cemetery in the Centenary Events section.

 

I want to do this for my lovely Gran as much as for him, she was a widow 64 years and my mother was born 7 months after his death - he had only been back in France 3 weeks.

 

Thank you all very much for your help.

 

Dave