Shropshire Star

Public urged to photograph local war memorials this bank holiday weekend

The Imperial War Museum is asking for people to ‘help fill the gaps’ in its 80,000 digital records by taking pictures this bank holiday.

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Men of Kent & Kentish Men

The Imperial War Museum has put out a call to the public to submit photographs of their local war memorial so they can be preserved for the future.

The museum is asking for people to “help fill the gaps” in its 80,000 digital records by taking pictures while out and about this bank holiday and into the summer.

Nelson's Column
Nelson’s Column (Brian Mawdsley)

Callum Brogun, war memorials project manager at IWM, said: “War Memorials form an important part of our rich cultural heritage and connect us with the global conflicts that have shaped the world we live in today.

“They continue to act as focal points for how we honour the sacrifices of past generations and to provide insight into the changing face of commemoration as well as artistic, social, military and community history.

The memorial in Brighton to commemorate the Royal Sussex Regiment
The memorial in Brighton to commemorate the Royal Sussex Regiment (Jeremy Bartlett)

“IWM is asking people to help us fill in the gaps of our 80,000 digital records by taking photos of their local war memorials while out and about this bank holiday and into the summer.

“By supporting us to add to our records from across the UK, people will be contributing to the preservation of important history and helping to make war memorials accessible to wider audiences.”

The museum currently holds records for over 80,000 memorials in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

The Richmond War Memorial
The Richmond War Memorial (IWM)

But of those 80,000, at least 35,000 have no picture to go with their record.

It is hoped that by taking photos of the UK’s memorials – while still following Government lockdown guidelines – the public can help preserve them for future generations, and open them up to more people.

People can find out whether their local memorial already has an image on the register by visiting https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/search and can send in any images to memorials@iwm.org.uk

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