Commemorative Plaque

Name/Title

Commemorative Plaque

Entry/Object ID

2018.05.07

Description

Bronze circular memorial plaque. Britannica is holding a laurel standing behind a walking lion. Underneath the lion, an eagle is fed on by a lion. It bears the name William Frank Walker.

Made/Created

Notes

Date: 1914-1918

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Notes

Obverse; engraved: "William Frank Walker" Reverse; engraved: "HE*DIED*FOR*FREEDOM*AND*HONOVR"

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Commemorative

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Memorabilia

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Search Terms

William Frank Walker

Legacy Lexicon

Object Name

Ceremonial Artifact

Class

Communication Artifacts

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Walker, William Frank

Research Notes

Notes

The Memorial Plaque was issued after the First World War to the next-of-kin of all British and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war. The plaques (which could be described as large plaquettes) about 4.75 inches (120 mm) in diameter, were cast in bronze, and came to be known as the "Dead Man’s Penny", because of the similarity in appearance to the much smaller penny coin which itself had a diameter of only 1.215 inches (30.9 mm). 1,355,000 plaques were issued, which used a total of 450 tons of bronze, and continued to be issued into the 1930s to commemorate people who died as a consequence of the war.