This afternoon I attended a meeting of the War Memorials Trust. I am grateful to Cllr Stephen Sowerby, a Conservative from Oakleigh ward, who invited me to come.
The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Lieutenant, Martin Russell, who is simply brilliant. His abilities and enthusiasm are a real asset to the Borough.
There were some interesting discussions on a number of issues, namely maintaining war memorials in places like Chipping Barnet and Hendon. There were discussions about naming war dead as well. Apparently Finchley has consistently rejecting having names on some of our memorials, most famously the "naked lady" on Henley's Corner, a gift of Lord Rothermere to commemorate the Battle of Marne.
We also discussed a project to collect the names and information of all those Barnet fallen, and those commemorated on plaques in the borough. There were some interesting examples of what happened to some of our war heroes.
There is a special effort to catalogue Victoria Cross (the highest military award for bravery) winners, especially those cremated at Golders Green.
We discussed the plaque in East Finchley, and some of the background to the case.
I thought this was a great meeting with really inspiring individuals, who knew their stuff, were passionate about it and were extremely welcoming. God knows why they wanted me there!
