The Memorial Plaque was issued after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to the next-of-kin of all

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

service personnel who were killed as a result of the war. The plaques (which could be described as large

plaquette A plaquette (, ''small plaque'') is a small low relief sculpture in bronze or other materials. These were popular in the Italian Renaissance and later. They may be commemorative, but especially in the Renaissance and Mannerist periods were oft ...

s) about 4.72 inches (120 mm) in diameter, were cast in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

, and came to be known as the "Dead Man’s Penny", because of the similarity in appearance to the much smaller penny coin which itself had a diameter of only 1.215 inches (30.9 mm). 1,355,000 plaques were issued, which used a total of 450 tons of bronze, and continued to be issued into the 1930s to commemorate people who died as a consequence of the war.

Description

It was decided that the design of the plaque, was to be chosen from submissions made in a public competition. Over 800 designs were submitted and the competition was won by the

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and medallist

Edward Carter Preston Edward Carter Preston (7 July 1885 – 2 March 1965) was an English artist, renowned as a sculptor and medallist. Biography Preston was born, and died, in Liverpool. He designed the bronze memorial plaques presented to the families of British ...

using the pseudonym ''Pyramus'', receiving two first place prizes of £250 for his winning and also an alternative design. The name Pyramus comes from the story of Pyramus and Thisbē which is part of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

'', a

Roman tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ...

narrative poem Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be s ...

. Carter Preston's winning design includes an image of

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

holding a trident and standing with a lion. The designer's initials, E.CR.P., appear above the front

paw A paw is the soft foot-like part of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws. Common characteristics The paw is characterised by thin, pigmented, keratinised, hairless epidermis covering subcutaneous collagenous and adipose tissue, ...

. In her outstretched left hand Britannia holds an olive wreath above the ansate tablet bearing the deceased's name cast in raised letters. Below the name tablet, to the right of the lion, is an oak spray with acorns. The name does not include the rank since there was to be no distinction between sacrifices made by different individuals. Two dolphins swim around Britannia, symbolizing Britain's sea power, and at the bottom a second lion is tearing apart the German eagle. The reverse is blank, making it a plaquette rather than a table medal. Around the picture the legend reads (in capitals) "He died for freedom and honour", or for the approximately 600 plaques issued to commemorate women, "She died for freedom and honour". They were initially made at the Memorial Plaque Factory, 54/56 Church Road,

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

, W3, London from 1919. Early Acton-made plaques did not have a number stamped on them but later ones have a number stamped behind the lion's back leg. In December 1920 manufacture was shifted to the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. Plaques manufactured here can be identified by a circle containing the initials "WA" on the back (the "A" being formed by a bar between the two upward strokes of the "W") and by a number stamped between the tail and leg (in place of the number stamped behind the lion's back leg). The design was altered slightly during manufacture at Woolwich by Carter Preston since there was insufficient space in the original design between the lion's back paw and the H in "HE" to allow an "S" to be inserted to read "SHE" for the female plaques. The modification was to make the H slightly narrower to allow the S to be inserted. After around 1500 female plaques had been manufactured the moulds were modified to produce the male version by removing the S. The plaques were issued in a pack with a commemorative scroll from

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

. Sometimes the letter and scroll were sent first. 2019 Woolwich Royal Arsenal, Elizabeth Line station 01

Adaptations

Smaller or ''miniature'' unofficial bronze plaques were produced by other manufacturers, for example Wright and Sons of Edgware, Middlesex, who sold them for 13

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s and sixpence each. Modern replicas have also been made, and occasionally offered as genuine. In 2019, an artwork was installed on the northern wall of the new Woolwich Station (built for the

Elizabeth Line The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid Urban rail, urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of London Paddington statio ...

) which is situated within the Royal Arsenal Woolwich where the plaques were produced by the thousands. The design of the wall decoration is based on the Memorial Plaque.

References

External links

{{commons category, Memorial Plaque (medallion)
''Next of Kin Memorial Plaque, Scroll and King's Message'' (Imperial War Museums)

''The Next-of-Kin Memorial Plaque'' (Imperial War Museums)

''1914-1918 Memorial Scroll and Plaque'' (Australian War Memorial)

British campaign medals Military awards and decorations of the United Kingdom Aftermath of World War I in the United Kingdom Exonumia Military awards and decorations of World War I Posthumous recognitions