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Dalgety Spillers

The three bronze memorial plaques commemorate two separate companies, Dalgety and Spillers, which had at one time in their history merged. Following this the new company later became part of Nestlè Purina PetCare UK Ltd. It is believed that the plaques were placed in storage following the closure of the Dalgety Spillers factory. The memorials commemorate the fallen workers of the company from World War I and World War II. The World War I plaque is cast bronze and at the top has molded detail which includes a globe and wreath. The two World War two plaques are formed from rolled bronze sheet and has gilded lettering.

Although the bronze memorial plaques had been in storage for a significant amount of time the overall condition was good. War Memorials Trust offered a special grant of £5,000 towards conservation works costing £9,000 in 2014 through its Small Grants Scheme following discussions with Nestlè Purina PetCare UK Ltd regarding their conservation and relocation. There were also additional costs associated with the production of a new structure for the plaques to be fixed to which were covered by the applicant.

The conservation works included the cleaning of the World War I plaque using water, pure soap solution and nylon brushes followed by re-patination to some minor areas of verdigris and the application of a protective micro crystalline wax. The two World War II plaques patina had been tarnished in a number of areas and one of the plaques was bent. As such the works to these two plaques comprised cleaning the plaques, re-patination and re-painting of the gold lettering where required. The bent plaque was slowly straightened using clamps and heat. This work had to be undertaken very carefully to ensure that the plaque was not damaged further.

The memorial plaques were then reinstated on a purpose built structure at the companies factory in Wisbech, Cambridge in time for a special rededication ceremony held on the 11th of November 2014.

In 2000 War Memorials Trust was approached by a storage company which was going into administration. They had found that they had these three bronze memorial plaques in their possession, the history of which was unknown. To save the memorial plaques from being lost War Memorials Trust made arrangements for them to be placed in storage whilst research was undertaken into their origins. Sadly this is not something the Trust is able to offer any longer due to the lack of space within the office and the difficulty in trying to re-home such memorials, as is illustrated by the length of time it has taken to successfully re-home these plaques. In the case of the Dalgety Spillers memorial plaques it took over a decade to identify an appropriate contact for the memorials and to find a new location for them.

In 2014 War Memorials Trust made a successful approach to Nestlè Purina PetCare UK Ltd for the relocation and redisplay of the three bronze memorial plaques. Both War Memorials Trust and Nestlè Purina PetCare UK Ltd recognised the importance of having these memorials back on display for commemoration in time for the approaching centenary.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM103
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: Not found

War Memorials Online: 124376

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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