Names have not been forgotten

I first became aware of Mr Bradshaw’s campaign to get 61 names added to the town’s War Memorial as a result of an article that appeared in this paper on November 4 2009. As a local historian I found the article very interesting and I felt his campaign laudable. Wishing to know more about the individuals named by Mr Bradshaw, I decided to investigates their backgrounds. Using a wide variety of sources, all accessible to Mr Bradshaw, I managed to unearth information on all the individuals. Unfortunately for Mr Bradshaw, the information showed that most of them had little or no connection with Leamington.

Having acquired the information, I realised it would be very useful in assessing the eligibility of the names for adding to the War Memorial. I therefore sent a copy of my findings to the town council for use by the councillors who were carrying out the assessment.

Apart from this, I have had no other involvement in the selection of the names, which was the sole responsibility of the town council. It has been announced that 16 names are to be added and I understand that the work will be carried out in time for Remembrance Sunday.

Finally, I would remind Mr Bradshaw that the names not being added to the War Memorial are not forgotten. They are all commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission somewhere and many also appear on other public memorials.

As for remembering the persons named, surely they are already remembered each Remembrance Sunday as we pause to think of all the men and women who lost their lives. - Richard King, address supplied.