Replica WWI Memorial Plaque

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 Great war. Edward Carter Preston designed the plaque on behalf of the British Government in 1916 to be given to the relatives of the fallen.

The plaques were made of bronze, and hence popularly known as the "Dead Mans Penny", because of the similarity in appearance to the somewhat smaller penny coin. 1,355,000 plaques were issued, which used a total of 450 tonnes of bronze and continued to be issued into the 1930s to commemorate people who died as a consequence of the war.

The plaque shows Britannia bestowing a laurel crown onto a rectangular tablet which would have the full name of the dead. A Lion stands infront, and dolphins are shown to either side of Britannia's upper body, and around the edge is the inscription 'He Died for Freedom and Honour'. The back of the plaque is plain, and has a 118mm diameter.

On the original plaques, the name would be in raised lettering. On our replica plaques the name will be engraved with silver infil.