Memorial plaques for local soldiers no longer languishing in church basement


They were intended to be everlasting memorials — and now, they will be.

Three memorial plaques listing dozens of Londoners who served in World War I and World War ll have found a permanent home in the entrance to the Hamilton Road Seniors Centre.

The plaques were originally displayed at the Hyatt Avenue United Church on Hamilton Road and subsequently at the Fairmont United Church on Tweedsmuir Avenue before the churches closed.

Mike Lee, whose father, uncle, grandfather and great uncle are listed on the plaques reached out to Reverend Jeff Crittenden of the Metropolitan United Church, who provided him with the plaques.

Lee worked with city hall to have the plaques displayed permanently in the same neighborhood where many of the young men and women lived.

“All of the men and women listed on these plaques walked the streets of the Hamilton Road community, and some never returned. These plaques will remind us of that,” Lee explains.

One of the young men was George Mount, great-uncle of Irene Mathyssen, who died at the Somme in 1918.

“This quiet sweet young man who grew up on Egerton Street, shipped out just before his 21st birthday and they never saw him again,” she says.

Lee says many of the soldiers honored on the plaque have family legacies that live on in London.

“I hope when people come in they’ll recognize some of the surnames and ask some questions, ask a parent or grandparent if they new that person or know that name,” Lee says.


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