Database honours war dead

Nov 11 2008 by Andrew Hirst, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE Royal Mail has put memorials to its war dead in Huddersfield, Cleckheaton and Dewsbury on a national list.

The database register contains more than 300 memorials honouring Royal Mail employees who lost their lives in war.

It includes details of seven monuments in Royal Mail buildings in West Yorkshire, including the three in Kirklees.

The Royal Mail War Memorial Database has been compiled by The British Postal Museum and Archive.

It is the result of a year of research by historians with help from the public and Royal Mail employees.

The database sets out to record the existence and location of each memorial.

In time it hopes to include the names on the monument, the inscription, the date and the stories of some of those honoured.

Royal Mail is thought to be the second largest custodian of war memorials, with only the Church of England housing more.

An estimated 85,000 General Post Office staff fought in the First World War and 8,500 lost their lives.

Some memorials list the names of more than 100 people and some just one.

The database lists a range of monuments, from traditional bronze statues and stained glass windows to scrolls of honour and large images.

The database is at www.postalheritage.org.uk/memorials