‘The Talking Wall’ – a poem inspired by a war memorial

Lt Commander Locker Madden, RN (ret.), a member of a well-known naval family and descendant of Captain William Locker, Nelson’s first captain, has recently become interested in the UKNIWM and has been energetically photographing war memorials in the north of Scotland.  A published poet, he was moved to write ‘The Talking Wall’ after recording the war [...]

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‘If I should die…’

Richard, one of our volunteers, writes the following…
The American Major Olmsted’s contemplation of his own death on active service sent me searching for an example from an earlier conflict.
When a young naval lieutenant, David Tinker, was sent to the Falklands he requested that if he were to be buried in earth the following be inscribed on his [...]

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“All you had hoped for, all you had, you gave”

Richard, one of our volunteers, writes the following… 
Sometimes we are asked to identify the source of inscription on war memorials: Rupert Brooke’s ‘red sweet wine of youth’ comes to mind.
I have been reading The Winter of the World: Poems of the First World War, the useful new anthology edited by Dominic Hibberd and John Onions [...]

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Rudyard Kipling’s lost son – ‘My Boy Jack’

Opening this month at Imperial War Museum, London, is the first exhibition to tell the full story of Rudyard Kipling’s only son, John, who was reported missing in action at the age of 18 in the Battle of Loos in 1915.  Rarely seen items from the Imperial War Museum’s archives will be on display, including John’s last letter to [...]

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Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori

Gordon, one of our volunteer fieldworkers writes…
For a while now I have had an interest in inscriptions and one in particular. When I was recording our local memorials some years ago, I noticed in our local parish church the Latin inscription “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” which means “It is a sweet and [...]

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Burma Star

August 15th is Burma Star Day at Imperial War Museum Duxford.  There you will be able to meet and hear the first hand accounts of veterans who fought in the Far East during the Second World War. 
Read more about Burma Star Day at Duxford
The Burma Star Association is very active in erecting memorials commemorating those who served and died [...]

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The sweet red wine of youth

While using the database today I came across an inscription that I hadn’t seen before on a memorial.  It struck me with its unusually vivid imagery.
These laid the world away/ Poured out the sweet red wine of youth/ Gave up the years to be
Using the Advanced Search on our database, it’s possible to search memorial inscriptions.  By doing this I [...]

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