by Graham Tutthillgtutthill@thekmgroup.co.uk

No more names will be added to Dover’s war memorial, town councillors have decided.

Originally they had agreed that new names would be considered every three years, with extra bronze plaques being added to accommodate the names of those who had died in the two world wars, but who had been omitted in the past.

But Town Clerk Allison Burton told the Mercury this week that there was limited space on the memorial, and that other forms of remembrance were being discussed.

Since the Dover War Memorial Project (DWMP) was launched, the names of a number of people had come to light who were killed in the wars, but had not been included on the memorial. Some of them have been added.

Miss Burton said a “significant number” of names were still being put forward, but further investigation showed that some of them either didn’t live in Dover, or they had not been killed by enemy action in the wars.

“We appreciate this is a very sensitive issue,” she said. “There are no statutory limitations on who can be included on a war memorial, but most people would expect they would be the names of people killed by enemy action during the two world wars.

“We discovered that one of the names put forward related to someone who died as a result of an accident, and others were people who died between the wars. Some others had been to school in Dover, but didn’t actually live here.

“Of course it is right that they should be commemorated in some way, and we are looking at other ways in which they can be remembered, perhaps in a memorial book.”

For the full story and reaction see the Dover Mercury out on Thursday.

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