Memorial finds a permanent home (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Memorial finds a permanent home

10:31am Tuesday 27th July 2010 in

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A MEMORIAL to seven men and a woman who made the ultimate sacrifice is on permanent show at The Willis Museum.

The Roll of Honour shows the eight names of colleagues who worked for Kelvin, Bottomley and Baird at its factory in Winchester Road, Basingstoke, and who lost their lives during the Second World War.

The company played an important role in the war effort, making aircraft instruments such as altimeters and compasses for the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.

Later, the company became part of Smiths Industries, which remained at the site until 2006, when the factory was demolished.

The remnants of the Basingstoke operation became part of Meggitt plc, trading then as Vibro-Meter, based nearby in Jays Close on the Viables Industrial Estate.

Today, the group designs and makes high-performance components and sub-systems for aerospace and defence markets which, no doubt, would have been unimaginable to those working at Kelvin, Bottomley and Baird.

The simple wooden memorial is a poignant reminder to those lost workers and was previously in a prominent position at the company’s offices.

Today, the memorial takes pride of place at The Willis Museum in Market Place, thanks to former Smiths Industries and Vibro- Meter/Meggitt maintenance engineer Les Ward.

He joined the aerospace manufacturer back in 1987, when it employed around 1,200 people, who worked in around 24 buildings on the site. He remembers seeing the memorial when he joined the company.

“It was in the reception area in the main B1 Building – it was right in front of you when you walked in, so you couldn’t miss it,” said Les.

“When half of the site was sold off in the mid-1990s to become Brighton Hill Business Park, the memorial was installed in the new B3 building’s reception area. It remained there until 2006, when we closed the site when Smiths finally left Winchester Road.

“My mate Gordon Cameron and myself were the last two out of there, as we were maintenance guys, and we rescued the memorial from the reception and kept it in our workshop at Vibro-Meter’s new modern production facility. We didn’t want it to be lost or destroyed, so we became its unofficial custodians.”

But in June, with Les about to retire, the question was raised of what to do with the memorial.

“After asking several of the original Smiths employees, who still work at Meggitt’s, what their views were as to where or what should happen to the Roll of Honour, it was decided I should try to find a permanent home for it in Basingstoke.”

Delighted with the response from the team at The Willis, Les said: “We’re glad The Willis took it because it’s part of Basingstoke’s history and of great importance, because it’s about people who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“I hope if those named have any family members still living in the area then they’d want to come and have a look at it. And if anyone is tracing their family history they’ll be able to come and see it.”

Sue Tapliss, curator at The Willis Museum, said: “Remembering the sacrifice of the men and women of Basingstoke is essential, and the museum is proud to display this memorial. We hope the families of the fallen will visit the museum to see the Roll of Honour and place poppies on Remembrance Day .

“I don’t think many people knew the memorial existed – it was unknown to the Imperial War Museum’s database service for war memorials. The first they heard of it was when I contacted them.”

Now, the memorial is listed on the UK National Inventory of War Memorial, which can be seen by visiting ukniwm.org.uk.

And the museum has set up a page on its website showing the Roll of Honour, which can be found at www3.hants.gov.uk/museum/willis museum/roll-of-honour.htm.