Ministry of Justice
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Updated guidance for managing war memorials
New guidance aimed at preserving the 70,000-plus war memorials in England and Wales has been published today.
Many are in a good state of repair but some, often those on private property, could be at risk and may even be destroyed through a lack of awareness if they are not properly maintained.
War Memorials in England and Wales - Guidance for Custodians, produced by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, replaces the code of practice issued by the Home Office in 2002.
The updated guidance explains how grants can be obtained from English Heritage and War Memorials Trust. Grants can contribute to conservation and repair bills, as well as paying for additional names and correcting errors. In Wales, custodians can apply to Cadw, part of the National Assembly, for funding.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport makes grants to charities and faith groups, equivalent to the VAT incurred on construction, renovation and maintenance of eligible memorials.
Ownership of a war memorial may vary according to circumstances. The new guidance makes clear any physical object erected or dedicated to commemorate those killed as a result of armed conflict should be regarded as a war memorial. The guidance also addresses memorials to civilian casualties and animals.
To ensure war memorials are recognised as such and cared for in the future, it is recommended custodians search written or photographic records and libraries and records offices to find out if there are any memorials in or around their buildings or land. Since 1989, the UK National Inventory of War Memorials has recorded the details of about 60,000 monuments.
As well as funding, maintenance, identification and ownership of memorials, the guidance covers removal and relocation and access to them.
Notes to Editors:
1. War Memorials in England and Wales -
Guidance for Custodians is available free from the DCA website -
http://www.dca.gov.uk and by
e-mailing coroners@dca.gsi.gov.uk
2. On its front cover, the leaflet features the Clitheroe War Memorial in Lancashire that remembers the dead of the Boer War, the Great War and Lance Corporal David Moon, killed in Northern Ireland in 1972.
3. More information on war memorials in the United Kingdom can be obtained from the websites of War Memorials Trust, the UK National Inventory of War Memorials and Cadw - http://www.warmemorials.org; http://www.ukniwm.org.uk; and http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk.
4. The DCA took over responsibility for issuing war memorial guidance from the Home Office in 2005.
