Jump to content
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Birmingham ww1 memorial discovered


Lorac

Recommended Posts

Apologies if this has already been discussed.

I read this tonight in The Birmingham Evening Mail. No picture is shown online (as it is in the newspaper) but it has cleaned up very nicely. Thanks must go to the builders for saving it.

Mystery of plaque honouring war heroes Nov 8 2006

A BRASS plaque honouring three war heroes has been discovered by workmen refurbishing a building in Birmingham city centre.

Now developers are trying to trace relatives of the First World War soldiers for a special Remembrance Day service for the trio.

Workmen found the memorial to Thomas Brigden and William Daniels, of Birmingham, and Frank Ernest Lucy, of Worcester, during work on the Samuel Booth & Co building in Bradford Street, Digbeth.

"This tablet records the names of those brave men who died for their country in the Great War, having previously worked here," the inscription read.

The plaque now takes pride of place in a corner of the courtyard of an apartment development.

The owners now plan to dedicate a bench to the trio, and with just days to go until Remembrance Sunday, they have launched a public appeal for help in tracing the men's relatives.

Pte Thomas Brigden, of the King's Royal Rifles, was born in Moseley, Birmingham, and was fatally wounded in the battle of Delville Wood, northern France, part of the Battle of the Somme, in August 1916.

Pte Brigden has no known grave but is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial near the Somme. He was posthumously awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal 1914-18 and the Allied Victory Medal 1914-19.

Pte Daniels was born in Aston, Bitrmingham, and volunteered with the 5th Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

He was killed on August 19, 1916, during the Battle of Pozieres, in France.

Pte Daniels has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

He was posthumously awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal 1914-18 and the Allied Victory Medal 1914-1919.

Pte Lucy enlisted with the 1st Worcestershire Regiment in 1916 and was killed in France on October 31, 1917, aged 25.

Buried eight miles south of Ypres, Pte Lucy was posthumously awarded the British War Medal 1914-18 and the Allied Victory Medal 1914-19.

Regards

Lorac

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lorac

So good to hear that this plaque has been rescued and will be preserved. Well done to the workmen concerned. Any idea what sort of business Samuel Booth and Co was?

An interesting story, thanks for posting.

Regards

Jan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

good that is didnt go onto ebay!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any idea what sort of business Samuel Booth and Co was?

Brass founders

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have an idea that Samuel Booth was eventually acquired and became part of Mansill Booth, which in turn was part of the Delta Group. This was the company with which I trained as a manufacturing engineer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Tom

Good to hear about the M&B memorial, too.

Jan

Don't leave us hanging on, please! - what about the M&B Memorial?

And might Booth's have a citation in the Birmingham Battalions Book of Honour? (Not just companies supplying to the Birmingham Plas are in there)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

See Lorac's follow up post to this under Soldiers. Relatives of WW1 Hero Traced, Private Thomas Brigden.

Must start reading the Birmingham Mail online!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...