LEICESTERSHIRE’S RESCUED WAR MEMORIALS Open day

A local project is inviting residents from Leicestershire and Rutland to attend to an open day on Saturday May 18th to learn more about the many local war memorials it has rescued and restored.

Lord Mayor of Leicester Ross Grant (centre left) visits Denis Kenyon (right), Chris Stephens (left), and Roy Birch at All Saints’ to learn more about the project.

The Leicester City, County & Rutland At Risk War Memorials Project also wants to encourage locals to getinvolved in the project’s work and to research, record and learn about the history behind the names on the memorials, the communities they came from and how to conserve memorials in their own areas.

The open day is free and runs from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM inthe Chancel behind Leicester’s All Saints Church at 107 Highcross St.

The project was formally set up in 2012 by Denis Kenyon and Chris Stephens who having witnessed the destruction of memorials at St Saviour’s Church were determined to create an organisation able to take direct action to rescue other memorials at risk of being lost through theft or vandalism.

In 2013 the project received Heritage Lottery Funding, and since then has gone from strength to strength. “The open days are a great way for the public to see the many different memorials from various conflicts” says Denis Kenyon. “These range from the three-metre high WW2 memorial window rescued from the Aylestone and District Working Men’s Club, to the moving inscription which commemorates those of theLeicester Boy Scouts Association lost in WW1.”

“There’s a Latin inscription on one of the memorial tablets dedicated to those from Alderman Newton’s school who lost their lives in the two World Wars” notes Project co-founder Chris Stephens. “The inscription translates as ‘not for ourselves but for those who follow’.

We hope that those visitors who see our exhibition at the open day join us in adopting and embracing this motto for future generations.”

For more information about Leicester City, County & Rutland At Risk War Memorials Project visit: www.atriskwarmemorials.co.uk

Memorial to the congregation of the now closed United Reformed Church in Evington Road who were involved in WW2. Harry Hopkins (far left, last but one row from bottom) was a Flight Lieutenant in the RAF. On the afternoon of 14 July 1944, he was killed during a training flight along with his flight engineer and the mid-upper gunner. Harry is buried in the Gilroes Cemetery in a plot now shared with his wife, Frances, who passed away in 2008 over sixty years later.

About the Leicester City, County & Rutland At Risk War Memorials Project

The Leicester City, County & Rutland At Risk War Memorials Project exists to rescue war memorials at risk of loss or damage from closed or deserted buildings e.g. churches, factories, clubs or schools.

It aims to relocaterescued memorials in a suitable new location in the original community, or, if this is not possible, for the memorials to be moved to a safe site for the purpose of repair, conservation, safe-keeping and display.

The project also encourages individuals, schools, and community groups to become involved in their important work by helping to research, record and learn about the history behind the names on the memorials, the communities they came from and how to conserve memorials in their own communities.

www.atriskwarmemorials.co.uk

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