Plaques placed on homes to bring war stories to life

Roger Webster never met his father, who died days before he was born in 1942.

Hedley Webster, 30, boarded a ship trying to escape the Japanese invasion of Singapore, when the vessel was sunk and he was declared missing, presumed dead. He never returned home.

A red plaque in memory of the RAF Volunteer Reserve airman is one of dozens placed around his home town of Stapleford in Nottinghamshire.

And Roger feels it is a fitting tribute to the memory of his father and all those from the town who lost their lives during World War Two.

"To see this is truly a statement," he said.

"A statement that there's people that fought for their country... and now it is recognised at the place that they actually lived.

"And I think that speaks more than a thousand words.

"This connects the town... with the people who gave their all, in many cases, gave their life."

So far, about 30 red plaques have been installed by Stapleford Town Council, which has helped fund the project alongside Broxtowe Borough Council and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

There are believed to be 81 men from the town who died in the war and the council has prepared a plaque ready for each of them, which will all eventually be put up at different locations.

One of them is dedicated to Walter Hooton, who died aged 29 in Myanmar in January 1945.

Records state only he was killed in action and is now buried more than 5,000 miles (8,000km) from the house he was born in.

His plaque has been put on the wall of his former home, where Carole Thirnwell now lives.

Carole, 77, said: "It upset me, thinking about this young man.

"He died, like many thousands did.

"I'm proud [to have his plaque] because I know it's a horrible thing, war, but these men...

"They went and left their families, for me... for us, to live best we can.

"It could still be his home if he'd lived.

"He could still live here with his family.

"But it's not going to happen."

Stapleford Town Councillor Lorraine Longford, 64, said the idea to create a trail of plaques around the town came about after a project last year to put up banners to people from the town who died in World War Two.

Longford said she continued researching the soldiers once the project was done and her research helped establish the trail.

"We lost 81 young men from this little town," she said.

"It's really sad and very poignant.

"I want the plaques to touch people's hearts, to see that these people were real people.

"This is where they lived in our town."

Longford said they were still working through the addresses which need plaques and some residents rent their homes so are waiting for landlord permission to put them up.

She added the project revealed a number of emotional stories, such as the Haines family, who lost three young men during the war - George, Victor and John.

Longford said RAF Volunteer Reserve airman George, 25, died after he was shot down during a raid on Frankfurt in August 1941.

Victor died, also aged 25, during the Normandy invasion.

And John, a father of two, was 33 when he died after a canoe he was in capsized in Scotland in 1944.

The house they grew up in now has three plaques dedicated to them.

"It brings it to life when you see three plaques on one house from one family," Longford added.

"[Their mum] lost her husband in 1940 and then she lost all three sons.

"That poor woman.

"These are the stories we need to remember and share."

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