Death Plaques on Family Gravestones (was Two Death Plaques on a Family Gravestone)

[rolt968]

I have come across a family gravestone with two death plaques attached. (Since both are still there I won't say where. Sad but true; they do disappear.)

 

In theory this shouldn't be all that uncommon, but I haven't seen it before.

 

Has anyone else seen two (or more) plaques on gravestone?

 

RM

Edited 26 May , 2021 by rolt968

[RaySearching]

 

 

You can see where they were,  and where the grave marker has been sadly  defaced during there removal

 

Ray

 

[rolt968]

Thank you. It's such a pity they have been prized off.

(I had wondered if people would think I am a bit paranoid not saying where gravestones with death plaques still attached are.)

 

RM

[depaor01]

20 minutes ago, rolt968 said:

...if people would think I am a bit paranoid not saying where gravestones with death plaques still attached are

No.

[charlie962]

20 hours ago, RaySearching said:

You can see where they were,  and where the grave marker has been sadly  defaced during there removal

Stolen c 1910 acoording to old threads ?

 

This today ?

Edited 1 April , 2021 by charlie962

[RaySearching]

Charlie 962 

Now that is interesting  (Plaque surfaced and for sale)

The centre plaque from the memorial , Visible damage apparent on the edge of the Mortlock plaque which is for sale 

 

The police view at the time, (2010)  if my memory serves me right was that the memorial stone was a private stone ,and they could only act if the present owner of the stone (a descendent) made a formal complaint

 

Ray

 

 

 

[ss002d6252]

Theft/criminal damage doesn't need a complaint from the victim, it can be anyone. The problem is that proving it can be difficult (hence why the victim ideally needs to make the complaint). Obviously at the moment it's all only allege and we have to be very careful about suggesting the seller has any culpability in this.

 

We need to stay the right side of the line.

Craig

[TEW]

Not suggesting any culpability but a simple Google search on name/number throws up Ray's 2010 post. Basic bit of research would have shown it's been removed from a memorial and described as stolen.

 

Anyone buying plaques is now going to see or believe there's an inferred crime with this one (assuming they do some research).

 

Normanby LH Group also mention the removal of the plaques as hopefully by the family themselves.

 

It is possible this is all totally legit.

 

If the seller can't sell it now as it's described as stolen without any proof could they take action?

TEW

 

[Kath]

Can't get on ebay - their server is down.

[TEW]

This one's not on Ebay, see the earlier post with image. Or just Google Mortlock 5429.

TEW

Edited 2 April , 2021 by TEW
Correction

[charlie962]

15 hours ago, TEW said:

Matlock 5429.

 That name and number are perhaps astray so as not to come up on a search? and it was not ebay but a dealer site.

 

There is no suggestion on my part that current vendor is 'implicated' as the plaque has probably changed hands more than once in 10 years. The damage to the gravestone looks suspicious enough to believe that it was not the family who initiated this however..

Edited 2 April , 2021 by charlie962

[TEW]

Google

 

Looks like Mortlock became Matlock - predictive text? Post edited.

 

No one knows when they were removed, they were spotted as missing 11 years ago.

 

Thanks

TEW

 

 

 

 

[charlie962]

In France it was common to have an enamelled plaque with photo on a tombstone in a local village but these too have become victims of theft.

[rolt968]

I have broadened the topic a little.

 

Yesterday I found something which I at least, think unusual.

 

I found a gravestone with a death plaque attached to the base. There were two unusual things.

1. The man's name does not appear on the gravestone.

2. The earliest name on the gravestone is a man born in the late 1890s who died at a reasonable age -meaning that the death plaque was attached many years after WW1. I am guessing that the first name on the gravestone was the casualty's brother. (I must go back and get more details.)

RM

[MAW]

It would seem sensible for owners of gravestones with embedded memorial plaques to have the plaques removed for safekeeping and replaced with copies made from something like fibre-glass.

[frev]

On 01/04/2021 at 01:26, rolt968 said:

I have come across a family gravestone with two death plaques attached. (Since both are still there I won't say where. Sad but true; they do disappear.)

 

In theory this shouldn't be all that uncommon, but I haven't seen it before.

 

Has anyone else seen two (or more) plaques on gravestone?

 

RM

 

Two of my Great Uncle’s death pennies (see the Cumming boys in my signature below) were attached to the grave of their parents (my Great Grandparents) in a little cemetery in country Victoria.  They had actually been bolted on – but went missing years ago.

In the same cemetery in another section, my Great Uncle Percy Lucas’s plaque was still attached to his parent’s grave – with wire to the surrounding rail.  Every year we have a huge family pilgrimage to the cemetery and in 2016 with all the added interest in the war, our family made the decision to remove it ourselves for safe keeping!

 

[rolt968]

18 hours ago, MAW said:

It would seem sensible for owners of gravestones with embedded memorial plaques to have the plaques removed for safekeeping and replaced with copies made from something like fibre-glass.

I suspect that in many cases there are no longer family members in the area to take care of the plaques.

[MAW]

Good point - I wonder how plaques in such cases could be protected.

 

Perhaps a local authority or local history group could carry out such a task.

[rolt968]

On 27/05/2021 at 23:13, MAW said:

Good point - I wonder how plaques in such cases could be protected.

 

Perhaps a local authority or local history group could carry out such a task.

It is difficult. I am not sure how they could be secured without removing them and ideally replacing them with replicas - expensive. I am not sure how to proceed since any campaign for their preservation might raise awareness of where they are. I have even become wary of being seen looking closely at one in case it draws attention to where it is.

 

I am beginnin to think that I should at least keep a record of the ones I see both those in situ and those missing.

RM