Tracing the history of a war memorial

Most war memorials were created through local initiatives, there is no central authority dedicated to recording or registering them in the UK. 

IWM's War Memorials Register is the most comprehensive list of war Memorials in the UK, so is a useful resource for information and references to find their history

Other organisations which document information about War Memorials include:

• Historic England, for nationally protected Memorials and monuments in England
• Commonwealth War Graves (CWGC),  for war memorials and cemeteries dedicated to British and Commonwealth casualties around the World from the First and Second World Wars
• American War Memorials Overseas, for wartime memorials dedicated to Americans outside the United States

Local record offices or history centres may also hold records about the creation of memorials, including committee minutes and plans. The National Archive's (TNA) find an archive database, can help you find your nearest repository. 

You can also ask your local or Family history society if they have already carried out research.

Local newspapers may have also reported every stage of the story of a war memorial from its inception to its unveiling. Local libraries and archives will often hold copies, but many newspapers have been digitised and can also be accessed online.

• British Newspaper archive (£)
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers (£)
• Welsh Newspapers Online
• Newspapers.com (£)

For war memorials on Church property then Church records, including faculties church planning permission), may also provide detail about the erection of the memorial. 

Official memorials in the UK

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) commemorates British and Commonwealth people who died in service during the First and Second World Wars. Military and government authorities dictated the criteria for who is commemorated on their memorials. 

This includes: 

• The person commemorated must have no known grave or were buried or lost at sea.  
• The person must have died in service, or of related causes.
• The person must have died within CWGC's designated war years:
  •  First World War: 4 August 1914 to 31 August 1921 
  • Second World War: 3 September 1939 to 31 December 1947

Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War are listed on a CWGC roll of honour in Westminster Abbey, London.

The Armed Forces Memorial and Roll of Honour

The Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire commemorates members of the British Armed Forces who were killed on duty or through terrorist action since 1 January 1948. 

The Memorial is overseen by a panel that considers potential additions, names for consideration are automatically provided to them by the Ministry of Defence.

The Armed Forces Memorial Roll of Honour contains the names of all UK Armed Forces personnel who have died during their service, since 1948, regardless of the cause of death. Names are added to the Roll of Honour by the Ministry of Defence Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) who are informed of all deaths in service.

Other memorials

There is no general rule which determines who, or what is commemorated on war memorials. The groups who created them were responsible for deciding they would commemorate

The criteria of commemoration can vary widely and may include:

• People who died
• People who served and returned home
• People from a geographical area
• People who were members of a military, professional or vocational organisation
• People whose family made a donation, or paid for them to be commemorated on the memorial
• Individual requests

Information often had to be gathered by word of mouth, door-to-door, by post or, through church or local press announcements. The reasons for decisions and the process of information gathering is often lost, though local newspapers or Parish Meeting minutes may describe discussions.

Additions to gravestones

Many families chose to commemorate their loved ones who died elsewhere, by adding a dedication to a family burial place. 

This additional dedication is known as an addition to the gravestone and was commonly added to the headstone, grave kerb or memorial of another family member to commemorate a war casualty. 

Gravestones which mark full, partial or group burial are not memorials. 

Errors and omissions

Errors and omissions are often not malicious. What may now look like a mistake may have been a deliberate choice at the time the memorial was created. Some factors that influenced what we could now see as errors or omissions include:

• A name can be spelt in different ways
• The person may be commemorated on a different memorial or location
• A family may have requested a person not be commemorated, or commemorated in a different place

• A family may have been unable to afford a financial donation for a person to be commemorated

   

Correcting mistakes

You should always consider whether it is appropriate to request a change to a war memorial, before raising a concern.

When raising concerns you should provide evidence that demonstrates an error has really been made.

Any decision to change or add names to a war memorial will be at the discretion of its owner or custodian, though this can be influenced by factors such as the memorial being protected with historic listing. 

A church in custody can authorise some changes, but may only consider the names of those who have died on active service. 

If there is no clear owner, the local council has authority under the 1923 Local Authorities (War Memorials) Act.