| Date | 9 December 2011 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0007 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Views of the Past |
Transcript
We will remember them
Views of the past by Elias Kupfermann
AT THIS time of the year, remembrance of past world conflicts is on everyone’s mind.
A few weeks ago I was looking at names on the war memorial at St Mary’s Church, Slough, and I noticed that the names of the fallen carved into Portland stone were starting to fade, perhaps due to acid rain over the decades since its erection by public subscription in 1921. After the Second World War, further names were added of those who died in battle.
I was interested to see that the council is thinking of erecting a new war memorial to honour Slough’s war dead to replace the deteriorating Grade II listed war memorial in St Mary’s Churchyard.
I would hope that information from the 20 or so war memorials and plaques scattered throughout the borough of Slough will be added to the new memorial. These include war memorials at Horlicks in Stoke Poges Lane and the Langley Memorial ground, plaques at Slough Grammar School and a memorial book in the old Town Hall.
Also, there are several other sources which need to be researched to ensure that all of Slough’s citizens who died during the major conflicts are included on the new memorial.
In 1995, I carried out a similar exercise researching Maidenhead’s war dead and found that more than 100 names were missed off the Maidenhead War Memorial outside the Town Hall.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead responded by adding additional bronze plaques to the memorial to accommodate the new names.
Since this time, further names have been added of soldiers who have died in more recent conflicts abroad a model which, perhaps, Slough could follow.
A new memorial for Slough means a second chance to remember and honour those who fell in the two World Wars who were not included on the original memorial, as it is said in the famous ode to remembrance taken from a poem ‘For The Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon.
‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.’
Images
