Local heroes: Revealing the Memorial Bells

Children learning about the chiming bells
Children learning about the chiming bells

Your Heritage

Date awarded
Location
Plaistow South
Local Authority
Newham
Applicant
Memorial Community Church, Plaistow
Award Given
£40800
The restoration of a rare set of chiming bells hung in 1925 in memory of 197 local heroes connected to the Memorial Community Church in Plaistow, London.

The Memorial Baptist Church building was opened in 1922 to house the church and its welfare work. The building is dedicated to the men from the church and local community who were killed in the First World War of 1914-1918.

When the project began, the bells were no longer in use and were inaccessible to the public. The project repaired the bells, restoring them to full working order and revealed the names of the men which were inscribed on them.

Volunteers, including young people from a local youth club, carried out research into the lives of the people commemorated, providing the information for an exhibition, which toured community venues before installation as a permanent feature in the church. This information was included Local Heroes website, developed by volunteers working with a history adviser. A rededication event attracted over 200 people, many of them relatives of the soldiers.

Additional plaques listing the names of the soldiers were installed in the belfry, and the bells are now played regularly. 

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