Gone But Not Forgotten: World War I Memorial Plaques & Their Stories
The Museum holds many examples of the World War One Memorial Plaque in the collection, some of which are kept in the reserve collection. Each plaque represents an individual soldier. This temporary exhibition brings together those plaques not normally seen by our visitor, a tribute to those who lost their lives between 1914 and 1918 and to the loved ones they left behind.
The memorial plaque made from bronze was given to the next of kin of a serviceman or woman who died whilst serving with the British Empire Forces during World War One.
Each plaque is decorated with a design featuring Britannia representing unity and British imperial power, in her left hand she is holding a laurel wreath for victory and in her right a trident. Dolphins are depicted either side of her signifying Britain’s sea power. Britannia is a lion symbolising both Britain and the Empire, at the bottom of the plaque a lion is biting the German imperial eagle.
To the right is the name of the recipient; you will notice that there is no rank on the plaque which was intended to show equality in sacrifice. Around the edge of the plaque is the inscription “he died for freedom and honour.” If you look closely, you will see that the H in the “he” is slightly narrower allowing room for it to be changed to “she” for women. Approximately 600 plaques were named to women. The Memorial Plaque is also known by many nicknames, most notably the “Death Penny.”
As well as the plaque, the next of kin was also issued with a scroll. At the top of the scroll is the royal crest and below that a calligraphic note. It states the rank and name of the person as well as what regiment they served with. The next of kin also received a king’s message which was a small letter with Buckingham Palace as the header and a few words from the king, signed with his signature.
The purpose of the plaque was to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives during the war effort whilst also providing a tangible object for the next of kin and the family to remember their loved ones by as part of the grieving process. A male relative always took precedence over a female when it came to deciding who the next of kin would be. However, it is important to note that those who were court martialled and executed for military offences did not receive a plaque.
Below are the stories of the recipients of the plaques in the Museum collection.
The design of the plaque was created through a competition, which was held during the war. In 1917 a committee was set up including representatives from London’s National Gallery, the Director of The Victoria and Albert Museum as well as the museum’s Keeper of the Department of Coins and Medals. There were no strict rules for designing the plaque, it was decided that any British born person was able to design it.
The instructions for the plaque were published on the 13th August 1917 in The Times Newspaper. The winner for the competition was announced on the 20th March 1918, the day before the German Army launched a surprise attack on the British Front on the Somme battlefield. There were over 800 entries, Mr Edward Carter Preston (1894-1965) was the winner. He was also responsible for designing many of The Royal Air Force’s gallantry medals dating from 1918. If you look closely at the plaque, you can see that just above the front paw of the lion is his initials “ECR.” Manufacturing began at Acton in 1918 until 1920 when the production moved to Woolwich, one of the main reasons why production started later was because the supply of metal and paper was difficult to obtain during the war. Each name was built from separate letters which was then individually cast.
Many families upon receiving the plaque often got it framed, and wall mounted alongside the medals the recipient was awarded. In other cases, it was often put away in a drawer or incorporated into a gravestone.
In the 1960s and 70s many plaques were thrown away or melted down for scrap. It is not known how many were produced, but over 880,000 British forces lost lives during World War One alone.
