Showcase result
St Simon's Church Kilburn
Town or City: London
County: Greater London
Country: England
WMT Reference Number: WM3142
Value of grant: £2952.00
Type of memorial: Non-Freestanding
Type of work: Conservation and repair
Grant scheme: WMT Grant Scheme
Year: 2017
UKNIWM reference number: 00000
War Memorials Trust was given the war memorial from St Simon’s Church back in 2001 after it was rescued from a skip by the Kilburn branch of the Royal British Legion. Although the Trust knew the war memorial came from a church as a result of the inscription, it was not clear which church it came from. This made it very challenging to find a new home for the war memorial.
The Trust asked its Regional Volunteers to carry out research on the war memorial to try and find out its original location. It was discovered that many of those named on the plaque either lived on or near Saltram Crescent in Kilburn which is the location of the former St Simon’s Church.
St Simon’s Church was converted into flats in the 1980s so the memorial had been in storage for over 30 years by the time it was relocated in 2018. During this time the alabaster frame of the war memorial had been damaged and parts of it had been lost. War Memorials Trust offered a grant of £2,952 to repair the frame, clean the ceramic tiling water and a non-ionic detergent, cleaning of the alabaster with solvents (as water washing of alabaster is not advisable) and also designing a new mounting bracket for the memorial.
After carrying out repairs, the Trust contacted the successor parish to ask if they would like to become custodians of the war memorial. The vicar advised the best location was to place it in St Luke’s Church of England School in Kilburn as the memorial could be an important educational tool to teach young people about the significance of war memorials. The memorial was installed in February 2018 and the Trust’s Learning Officer carried out a visit to the school in the following month.
The case demonstrates the importance of considering the long term future of war memorials and recording their origins. As part of the work, the contractor included a laminated information sheet behind the war memorial to ensure it will not be lost again.
Further information
War Memorials Trust reference WM3142
UK National Inventory of War Memorials:
War Memorials Online: 124525
If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org
