Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton, is backing an important initiative to support local war memorials.

The initiative, launched by Damien Moore, MP for Southport, and supported by the Imperial War Museums (IWM), calls on the public to help document and verify the archives and records with regards to our nation’s important war memorials. Through the amazing work of volunteers and local communities, the initiative aims to complete as many of our national records as possible before Remembrance Day on Friday the 11th of November 2022.

Everyone across Rutland, Melton, the Vale and Harborough Villages can contribute to the War Memorials Register, and the knowledge and interest of individuals, families, and communities helps the team at IWM to ensure as many memorials as possible are recorded and accessible for future generations. Local residents are urged to get out and about, discover their local war memorial, and submit its details to IWM’s online register.

War memorials across the UK play a central and important role in the heart of our communities in remembering those who served and tragically lost their lives in service of our country. They also offer a physical and significant space for families to remember and honour those who gave their lives, while also allowing a place to come together as a community.

IWM and their team of dedicated volunteers do a fantastic job in selflessly giving up their spare time to walk around these sites of local and national importance and ensure that every name is carefully noted down, and that these sensitive and important memorials are properly photographed and recorded for posterity.

IWM’s War Memorials Register aims to compile a comprehensive and accurate record of all of the UK’s war memorials, and to make this resource freely available to the public.

The War Memorials Register currently holds records of 96,000 war memorials across the United Kingdom, although there are an estimated 110,000 in total. IWM’s records are constantly updated and added to in order to improve the accuracy and depth of the information available.

Photographs are an important part of the Register, but currently around 46,000 (45%) of the existing records are lacking good images. Many more are simply unaccounted for, hidden away in the backs of converted schools and churches that are now private homes, or overgrown on walls in quiet parts of a village.

The aim of this initiative is to ensure that through the work of local communities across the country, as many records of these memorials as possible can be completed before Remembrance Day on Friday the 11th November 2022. Damien Moore MP wants to encourage the public to discover their local war memorials and submit the details to the online register so that local heroes are recorded, and we ensure that we will remember them.

Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton, said:

Any community with as large a veteran community as ours will always be proud of our war dead – and I will always stand behind preserving the memory of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

The men and women commemorated on the memorials in every community across Rutland, Melton, the Vale and Harborough Villages deserve to be remembered forever – and this initiative will help preserve the memory of these heroes.

“I am proud to be standing up for our war dead and supporting this important initiative to ensure that we remember these selfless heroes.

“It is right that these sensitive and important memorials are properly photographed and recorded for posterity, and I urge anyone with a spare hour to visit IWM’s memorials website and see what they can do to help.”

Heritage Minister, Nigel Huddleston, said:

“War memorials commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and we must make sure the heroes who served are remembered. 

"I encourage everyone to support the Imperial War Museum's campaign and add the details of their ancestors, family members or people from their local community to the War Memorial Register so we can continue to mark their service for future generations."

Dame Diane Lees, Director-General of Imperial War Museums, said:

“Every war memorial presents a unique historical record and preserves the memories of the men, women, children and animals that it commemorates.

“These memorials form an important part of our cultural heritage, and it has long been IWM’s aim to document the UK’s war memorials and record these important sites of remembrance for posterity.

“We welcome the support of Damien Moore MP, and his initiative, to encourage members of the public to go out into their local communities and help us complete as many of the War Memorials Register’s records as possible, before Remembrance Day in November 2022.”