Which names appear on a War Memorial?
There are no rules. Each community decided the position, design, names and criteria of their own tribute but most of the names appeared because someone wanted them remembered at the time that the names were being added. So if the family had all died or moved away, their names were often overloooked
Who paid? The funds were usually raised by public subscription within the community
To illustrate some typical problems:
One man in our village died on the Western Front in 1918 and it was recorded in the Parish Magazine by the Vicar. By the time the memorial had been agreed it was 1921 and all his family had died or moved away and his name was not included on our Memorial
There is also the example of two sisters who were evacuated to the village and were later joined by their widowed mother, they had a brother who was married and lived 100 miles away in South London, he never lived here yet his name appears. He was a PoW of the Japanese.
I have encountered one community which excluded non-military personnel. So someone killed in a bombing raid or dying on board a merchant navy vessel has been excluded.
On the other hand, there are those whose names do appear and yet there is no obvious link to the community. After a lot of work, you can discover that the parents had moved into the community or that the Fallen man was the sweetheart of a local
I have no evidence of it but I am told that some were excluded because of their religious beliefs.
What form does the Memorial take?
We tend to think of a Stone Cross in the heart of the community, sometimes in a Church sometimes on a green. However there are other commemorations illustrated in this website
A Church Tower in Baildon in Yorkshire
The Chapel at Oakham School
A pair of houses for Community Nurses which are also in Baildon
A village Hall in Albury and in Wonersh
A playing field in Wonersh
A hand written and illuminated scroll in Duns Tew and North Aston
A wall plaque in Albury in the church
A wall plaque in Grafham on the outside wall
Spelling and errors
It would appear that there spelling mistakes and also incorrect information on almost every memorial.
Balaclava Smallbone appears on the Shalford Memorial but nowhere else. As far as I can discover Balaclava was his known name but he was formally known as Fred and, just for the record, his father was Inkerman!
Who paid? The funds were usually raised by public subscription within the community
To illustrate some typical problems:
One man in our village died on the Western Front in 1918 and it was recorded in the Parish Magazine by the Vicar. By the time the memorial had been agreed it was 1921 and all his family had died or moved away and his name was not included on our Memorial
There is also the example of two sisters who were evacuated to the village and were later joined by their widowed mother, they had a brother who was married and lived 100 miles away in South London, he never lived here yet his name appears. He was a PoW of the Japanese.
I have encountered one community which excluded non-military personnel. So someone killed in a bombing raid or dying on board a merchant navy vessel has been excluded.
On the other hand, there are those whose names do appear and yet there is no obvious link to the community. After a lot of work, you can discover that the parents had moved into the community or that the Fallen man was the sweetheart of a local
I have no evidence of it but I am told that some were excluded because of their religious beliefs.
What form does the Memorial take?
We tend to think of a Stone Cross in the heart of the community, sometimes in a Church sometimes on a green. However there are other commemorations illustrated in this website
A Church Tower in Baildon in Yorkshire
The Chapel at Oakham School
A pair of houses for Community Nurses which are also in Baildon
A village Hall in Albury and in Wonersh
A playing field in Wonersh
A hand written and illuminated scroll in Duns Tew and North Aston
A wall plaque in Albury in the church
A wall plaque in Grafham on the outside wall
Spelling and errors
It would appear that there spelling mistakes and also incorrect information on almost every memorial.
Balaclava Smallbone appears on the Shalford Memorial but nowhere else. As far as I can discover Balaclava was his known name but he was formally known as Fred and, just for the record, his father was Inkerman!