Media Centre

 

Councillor Kevin Miller, Mayor or Erewash, near Ilkeston in Derbyshire, has given his backing to the In Memoriam 2014 campaign, which aims to record and protect all of the UK's monuments to fallen service men and women.

 

With the support of communities up and down the land, the initiative is building a database of memorials and providing SmartWater kits to safeguard them from thieves intent on stealing metal fixtures from the sites, which often include the plaques with the names of those they commemorate.

 

SmartWater is a colourless liquid that gives each memorial a unique code which can be traced by police in the event of the theft and the item being recovered. Officers can then use the marking as proof of the theft and even return stolen items to their legitimate owners.

 

Councillor Miller told the Ilkeston Advertiser newspaper: “The war memorials in our area offer an important insight into our military and social history. They remember those from this area who have given their lives for their country.

 

“A theft from a war memorial is an attack on the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

 

“I welcome the In Memoriam 2014 project and its aim to protect war memorials with the application of SmartWater.”

 

In order to close down the ways thieves can sell stolen metal, scrap metal dealers are increasingly checking the material offered to them for traces of SmartWater, which is a simple process using ultraviolet light. Though simple to apply, SmartWater is virtually impossible to remove from marked objects.

 

In Memoriam 2014 is a partnership between the War Memorials Trust and the SmartWater Foundation. 

 

Sir Keith Povey, chairman of the SmartWater Foundation, said: “I hope that people embrace what this project offers and take and interest in locating and preserving these symbols of our commemoration.”

 

Councillor Miller is one of a growing band of volunteers giving their time to contribute to the  In Memorian 2014 project across the UK.