Is there a missing memorial plaque waiting to be found ?
REMEMBERING the First World War, the battles that were fought, won and lost, the sacrifices that were made both in the trenches, at sea and at home, has reminded us that as a nation we came together when our backs were against the wall and showed a doughty spirit that hopefully remains just as powerful today.
Throughout the period of the last 1400 days whilst one hundred years ago one crisis after another gave the feeling that the war would never end, people across the Black Country and beyond have taken the time to bring to life once again the exploits of distant relations, their fears and forbodings, their joys, victories, and sadly their selflessness in sacrifice.
Fearless
Countless names have been passed on to the Bugle of soldiers and sailors plus a few airmen who flew in the fledgling RAF, to be remembered once again for their incredible exploits and fearless bravery, and these stories have helped bring the picture of the war to end all wars into focus and give us a better understanding of how dreadful life must have been for our ancestors during those years of conflict.
The memorials tell us the names of the men who fell never to return home; the white regimental headstones scattered throughout our churchyards and cemeteries tell us the last resting place for those who made it back but were so terribly scarred from their experiences at the front that they died despite the best possible care. And the names on the memorials and headstones are another important reminder of the devastation the war had on local communities, when brothers, friends and neighbours, some of whom lived in the same street, died never to return. As soon as the war was over keeping these brave men in mind was paramount and public subscription as well as civic support commissioned the making of these memorials, some made of stone, others of wood, some located in town squares or churchyards, others positioned on the walls of the town hall or in the library.
The years in between have not been kind to some original memorials and they are wearing away, whereas others have been restored and in a few cases replaced altogether. But Bugle ambassador and Wednesbury Poet Laureate Brendan Hawthorne, aka Bren from the ‘Booyneds’, has advised us of a memorial that used to be positioned on a wall inside Toll End Library, Tipton, but no one seems to know of its whereabouts and Brendan would dearly love to track it down. He told us about his family connection:
“Bugle readers may remember a play I wrote, details of which were published in the Bugle in March 2017, about ‘Two Mothers & Distant Sons’. The central character of the story was my great uncle Corporal William James Bolt who was killed in action on November 30, 1915. His name is one of those recorded on the Toll End Library War Memorial, coming as he did from Toll End Road where he lived prior to his embarkation to France. I have done some research into the likely whereabouts of the memorial which was wooden in construction, but to no avail and wondered whether Bugle readers might have a suggestion or two as where to look next, or even better know its exact location. I admit it could have been thrown away when the library closed, but that thought is furthest from my mind.”
If you can help Brendan in his quest to find the missing Toll End Library War Memorial please contact us here at the Bugle. All the contact numbers and addresses are published on page 2.