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| Brigg Monument (War Memorial) with wreaths laid on Remembrance Sunday. Note the names of The Fallen - there are more on the back of the landmark. |
Every Remembrance Sunday sees the laying of wreaths at the Monument, on which are the names of "the fallen" from the RAF, Army and Navy.
Town Clerk Jeanette Woollard told the Town Council's February meeting in the Angel Suite that she could find no "hard and fast national policy" for determining whose name should be included on memorials. It was up to each town and parish. She described this as a very, very sensitive subject and one that needed to be considered carefully. There could be requests received for inclusion of the names of people who had died in past conflicts.
Town Mayor Coun Carl Sherwood said his personal view was that anyone who laid down their life for their country should be included, but he admitted: "Sooner or later we will run out of room."
Coun James Truepenny thought the Town Council should definitely determine a policy.
Coun Mel Oades raised the question of people living on the outskirts of Brigg. He suggested many on the Water's Edge housing estate - actually in Broughton parish - might think they lived in Brigg. "The key thing is to determine the town and parish," he suggested. Coun Oades thought discussions with neighbouring parishes might help.
Coun Ben Nobbs said some residents of Cadney and Howsham seemed to regard Brigg war memorial as being for their parish.
Coun Chris Dyson suggested it was best to keep things simple: The memorial should be just for people from the parish.
Brigg Town Council paid to have the Monument refurbished to the very high standard you can see in the above photo. The memorial was erected a few years after the First World War with public support, Alderman Stamp being a driving force and perhaps founding father. He served on Brigg Urban District Council for many years.
NF adds: This is a very complex issue for the Town Council and affects many other towns and parishes across the UK. There's another place in North Lincs where a call has been made to add 30 names to a memorial. Does a serviceman or woman need to have been born in a parish to be honoured on the local war memorial? Or do they just to have lived there for a certain length of time? Boundaries change with time. Nor are local government boundaries and ecclesiastical (parish) boundaries necessarily the same.
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4 comments:
A few points of issue -
1. In general, no one agency is able to determine whose name should be included on a war memorial. While the Town Council may have the management responsibility for the war memorial, it should be left to the wider community to decide and not to the voting preferences of councilors in deciding who can and cannot be included.
2. The Brigg war memorial includes names of, for example, the fallen of Wrawby during the Great War.
3. One name, conspicuous by its absence, is that of Sister Ellen (Nellie) Andrew ARRC - an army auxiliary nurse - killed in action on the Western Front during a German bombing raid on 31st March, - the first day of the 1918 German Spring Offensive. While her fallen school friends are included on the memorial, her sacrifice is not recognised.
4. It would be a very weak excuse to exclude someone's name because of 'the lack of space'.
A few points of issue -
1. In general, no one agency is able to determine whose name should be included on a war memorial. While the Town Council may have the management responsibility for the war memorial, it should be left to the wider community to decide and not to the voting preferences of councilors in deciding who can and cannot be included.
2. The Brigg war memorial includes names of, for example, the fallen of Wrawby during the Great War.
3. One name, conspicuous by its absence, is that of Sister Ellen (Nellie) Andrew ARRC - an army auxiliary nurse - killed in action on the Western Front during a German bombing raid on 31st March, - the first day of the 1918 German Spring Offensive. While her fallen school friends are included on the memorial, her sacrifice is not recognised.
4. It would be a very weak excuse to exclude someone's name because of 'the lack of space'.
A few notions to ponder -
1. Alderman Stamp was a member of Brigg Urban DISTRICT council - the council was not solely a town council and its responsibilities/influences extended beyond the parish of Brigg.
As such, it could be strongly argued that the Brigg war memorial should include the Fallen from Brigg & DISTRICT.
2. Alderman Stamp lived and ran a shop, from which is now Brigg Auto Spares - opposite Brian's DIY.
3. I understand the Bean family - of the Bean Brewery - contributed funding towards the war memorial - they lost 2 sons in the Great War - but the family lived in Wrawby.
Sister Ellen Andrew is recognised by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission - she is buried in a war grave in Lillers, France....and her name appears on the Nurses' Memorial Screen at York Minster.
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