Brigg Town Council's latest meeting featured a lengthy discussion about whether further names of local people who lost their lives in the service of their country should be added during forthcoming restoration work to lists of The Fallen already in place on the Monument war memorial.
Sister Ellen Andrews - a nurse killed while serving near the front during the First World War - was the only person mentioned by name during the debate in the Angel Suite.
She came from Wrawby.
The issue was raised by Brigg resident Ken Harrison some time ago and made an agenda item for the council's June meeting last week.
Ken says some of those men whose names already appear on the Brigg memorial did not live in the town but had other connections with it.
In view of that, he thinks the Sister's name should be added.
Coun Ann Eardley spoke in favour of considering others to be honoured on the memorial, saying: "Things get lost in history."
Coun James Truepenny supported looking at things "case by case."
Coun Louise Mikkonen asked whether sufficient space existed at the Monument to add further names.
Deputy Town Clerk Alison Hannath confirmed this was possible.
Coun Rob Waltham said it would be helpful to consult Sir John Nelthorpe School, pupils and staff having carried out detailed research into those from Brigg who served and died during the First World War.
Coun Waltham suggested the council should defer the issue so SJN can be consulted and to give Ken Harrisom time to provide further information if he wishes.
Coun Chris Dyson said he was firmly against the addition of further names.
"Who are we to reopen something done in the 1920s?" he asked.
This was a reference to the list of names drawn up post-war to go on the Monument.
Coun Dyson said "the mind boggles" when considering the amount of work involved in amending things now.
Coun Carl Sherwood suggested the criteria should be: "Born in Brigg."
The council agreed to defer the matter to a future meeting.
2 comments:
Despite the myth, not everyone named on the WW1 roll came from Brigg town. It would be fairer to say the the names represent the fallen from the then district of Glanford Brigg (Brigg and surrounding community). In addition, there are others who lived/born further afield- Leicester- Hull - Kelsey.
Sister Ellen Andrews' name is conspicuous by its omission. She was Killed in Action on 21st March 1918 having served nearly 3 and a half years as a sugical sister at a Forward Medical Unit on the Western Front.
When the motion was first put forward some years, the local Royal British Legion received a letter indicating they would be consulted.
When a RBL officer visited the Council with supporting evidence, he was told that a decision had already been made to reject the motion as her name is on a plaque in Wrawby church.
I do hope the RBL is properly consulted on this occasion.
Sister Ellen Andrews name does appear in the Military Chapel at Aldershot, on a plaque in Wrawby church and on the Army Nurses Plaque in York Minster....but is not on any public war memorial at which folks can pay homage to war dead on Remembrance Sunday - Lest we forget.
Sister Andrews is buried in a war grave in France.
It is probably impossible to explain why her name was not included when names were collated....but it was a time of a male dominated society: there were surviving colleagues of the fallen in the Brigg area, while a woman on the Western Front was a rarity; perhaps folks didn't realise she was in a war zone when she came home on leave and that her aged, pauper mum would be about the only person who put her daughter's name forward.
With both the centenary of both Armitice and Sister Ellen Andrews' death in 2018, recognising her would be a tribute to next year's Remembrance Sunday.
Some years ago, I was told by then Town Mayor that the Council 'didn't want to change history'.....on the contrary, adding her name would add and correct history.
Now the Town Council seems to want to establish a criteria should other names be requested to be added to the War Memorial.
The War Memorial Trust guidelines indicates it is upto the local community to decide and suggests any criteria should be simple, such as, 'the community should be able to decide when any deserving name should be added'.
Complicated conditions, like place of birth, specific place of residence, WW1/WW2 only - only compounds the issue, should there ever be an unfortunate situation if a request is ever made to record a future victim of conflict.
I was also suggested that all this happened nearly 100 years ago, so why bother......time is not a factor in Remembrance....these people lived once and gave the ultimate sacrifice and we should never forget them, or the futility of war.
Despite the myth, not everyone named on the WW1 roll came from Brigg town. It would be fairer to say the the names represent the fallen from the then district of Glanford Brigg (Brigg and surrounding community). In addition, there are others who lived/born further afield- Leicester- Hull - Kelsey.
Sister Ellen Andrews' name is conspicuous by its omission. She was Killed in Action on 21st March 1918 having served nearly 3 and a half years as a sugical sister at a Forward Medical Unit on the Western Front.
When the motion was first put forward some years, the local Royal British Legion received a letter indicating they would be consulted.
When a RBL officer visited the Council with supporting evidence, he was told that a decision had already been made to reject the motion as her name is on a plaque in Wrawby church.
I do hope the RBL is properly consulted on this occasion.
Sister Ellen Andrews name does appear in the Military Chapel at Aldershot, on a plaque in Wrawby church and on the Army Nurses Plaque in York Minster....but is not on any public war memorial at which folks can pay homage to war dead on Remembrance Sunday - Lest we forget.
Sister Andrews is buried in a war grave in France.
It is probably impossible to explain why her name was not included when names were collated....but it was a time of a male dominated society: there were surviving colleagues of the fallen in the Brigg area, while a woman on the Western Front was a rarity; perhaps folks didn't realise she was in a war zone when she came home on leave and that her aged, pauper mum would be about the only person who put her daughter's name forward.
With both the centenary of both Armitice and Sister Ellen Andrews' death in 2018, recognising her would be a tribute to next year's Remembrance Sunday.
Some years ago, I was told by then Town Mayor that the Council 'didn't want to change history'.....on the contrary, adding her name would add and correct history.
Now the Town Council seems to want to establish a criteria should other names be requested to be added to the War Memorial.
The War Memorial Trust guidelines indicates it is upto the local community to decide and suggests any criteria should be simple, such as, 'the community should be able to decide when any deserving name should be added'.
Complicated conditions, like place of birth, specific place of residence, WW1/WW2 only - only compounds the issue, should there ever be an unfortunate situation if a request is ever made to record a future victim of conflict.
I was also suggested that all this happened nearly 100 years ago, so why bother......time is not a factor in Remembrance....these people lived once and gave the ultimate sacrifice and we should never forget them, or the futility of war.
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