What does the plate in my attic commemorate?
We have just moved into a new home and I was immediately sent to the attic to clean it out.
Apart from lots of cobwebs and a battered old Christmas tree, there wasn’t much there. Or so I thought, as, in the darkest recess, I found a circular plate.
I hope you can tell me what it is, Queries Man.
It’s made of bronze, I think, about five inches in diameter and bears the inscription: “He died for freedom and honour” over a picture of Britannia and a lion. – J.
I believe this is a plaque, not a plate.
In fact, it sounds like a Memorial Plaque, which was issued was issued at the end of the First World War to the next-of-kin of all British and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war or died while in service.
They were given with a scroll bearing a message from the King.
With almost 1,000,000 deaths in the army alone, the plaques are still commonly found, though the scrolls are rarer.
The design features the figure of Britannia facing to her left and holding a laurel wreath in her left hand.
In her right hand she is holding a trident. In representation of Britain’s sea power there are two dolphins each facing Britannia on her left and right sides.
A growling lion is stands in front of Britannia, with another much smaller lion under its feet, biting the German Imperial eagle.
Sadly, the plaques became known as “Dead Man’s Pennies”.