THE  DOVER WAR MEMORIAL  PROJECT

World War I

CASUALTIES MISSING FROM THE DOVER TOWN MEMORIAL
(including adding names to the Memorial - see below)

The Dover Town Memorial outside Maison Dieu House does not represent all the casualties from Dover.

Great War Casualties

The overwhelming majority of the names on the Memorial are from the Great War. Even so, these represent only around 80% of those Dovorian service men recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to have died in that war. There are many more who died yet were not noted by the CWGC as having Dover connections, simply because the next of kin had moved, or did not return the registration form (my own two great uncles are in this latter  category).

There are number of reasons for exclusion of Great War casualties from the Memorial, including:. 

• The person may have been a woman. They were not included, even if they died while on service.

• The person may have been a civilian. They were not included, nor recorded by the CWGC.

• The person may have died from disease after the war. Some were included, others, whose illnesses could well have been attributable to service (for example disability through wounds or gas attacks) were not, as they survived for some years afterwards.

• The committee decided that a particular person was not eligible, on any one of several criteria, including, for example, residency in the town (see also William Alfred Dixon, on this page)

• person's next of kin may not have asked for the name to be included on the memorial. This could happen for a number of reasons, including:

• they had moved away

• they had themselves died

• a widow had remarried

• they still believed the loved one would return

• they did not accept memorialisation

• the casualty was named on another parish memorial in Dover (though many are named on both town and parish)

Research with the Dover War Memorial Project continues to identify those Dovorian Great War casualties not named on the Memorial, including civilians, and not noted as Dovorians by the CWGC. It will also record those named on other memorials in the Dover area.

As a matter of interest, those included on the Town War Memorial need not have been either resident or born in the town of Dover, nor need they have died on active war service. There are a number with previous service records, but who died through illness or accident, while others are connected to the town through relatives (but not necessarily legal next-of-kin). Some were schooled here, from families resident elsewhere.

World War II Casualties

There is one small panel at the rear of the Memorial that contains the names of twenty one service people who died. There are a couple of Great War casualties; the remainder are from World War II. This panel was added to the Memorial and amended during the 1990s, and the names were included by individual request.

The casualties of Dover from the second World War were recorded in a Book of Remembrance, now kept at the Dover Museum. There are nearly 500 casualties, and they include civilians and others who died at home. The list of names may be seen here and the Book itself may be seen by appointment with the Museum.  Again, there will be some people known to have lost their lives that for various reasons may not be included.

Adding Names to the Memorial

In 2005 the care of the Memorial passed from the District Council to the Town Council. Furthermore, owing to the Dover War Memorial Project, a number of enquiries have since been received as to how a name may be added to the Town Memorial. The combination of these two factors means that the question of adding names is currently under consideration. However, a resolution was passed in 2006 by the Town Council that the Memorial would be updated every three years (municipal year 2005/2006, minute number 651B "That the updating of names on the War Memorial to be considered every 3 years by the Town Council;").

On 13th March 2007 the Dover War Memorial Project submitted to the meeting of the Town and Environment Committee of the Town Council a list of fifteen names for inclusion on the Memorial, along with much further information on each casualty. The Committee reiterated that the Memorial will be updated every three years. This is the relevant minute from that Committee meeting:

The Dover War Memorial Project is therefore currently both keeping and maintaining for resubmission the list of those casualties whose relatives have requested their names should be added, along with all pertinent information.  The current list of names received by the Project is here; should you wish to add a name, do contact the Project.  

In the meantime, this website forms a virtual memorial, created with love, in Remembrance of those we lost from our town. We intend also to publish definitive Books of Remembrance from the information., for update and resubmission.  If you wish your loved Dovorian to be commemorated also in these ways, please tell us. It is our humble pleasure to honour your loved one and to help ensure that she or he is never forgotten.