Since 1988 IWM's War Memorials Register has been working to create a comprehensive national register of UK war memorials and the names of the individuals they commemorate. Now numbering over 95,000 records and 1.4 million names, the Register is a hugely valuable resource for families to discover where and how their relatives are commemorated. As many families have moved away and war memorials are updated, moved and sadly sometimes lost, it is more important than ever to record the details of these important symbols of remembrance.
As a charity IWM relies on the incredibly generous support of our community to ensure that essential work such as the War Memorials Register continues. By supporting IWM, you can play a vital part in ensuring that the Museum can continue telling the personal stories of the causes, course and consequences of modern warfare and conflict to current and future generations.
War memorials form an important part of our cultural heritage and reflect the changing face of commemoration as well as artistic, social, military and international history. The Register includes memorials to members of the armed forces, civilians and animals from all conflicts and to those who died in service. With no central organisation, each community chose their own design and wording, meaning that every war memorial presents a unique historical record. The Register is also used extensively by local, community and military historians to research and pass on the stories of those commemorated within their communities.
IWM needs your support to ensure that we can add to and maintain our comprehensive and accurate record of these important social and community memorials.
The public search for war memorials can be found on the IWM's website: www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/search.