War Memorials Online is a website that aims to record information about all the war memorials in the UK. This includes information about:
- Where they are
- What type of memorial they are
- What they look like
- What condition they are in
There are an estimated 100,000 war memorials in the UK and as many as 7,000 of these are thought to be in Poor or Very bad condition. Anyone can add information to War Memorials Online and the public are being called upon to help upload images of war memorials and record the condition of them through the website.
War Memorials Trust has worked with Historic England Education to develop teaching materials for schools that will enable pupils to visit a local war memorial, carry out a condition survey and upload the results to War Memorials Online. These materials are available in the Education section of the Historic England website:
There is an e-learning module to go alongside these condition survey resources. This short module, aimed at Key Stage 2 teachers, shows how you can help your class when they survey a local war memorial and report on its condition. Once the condition report is uploaded to War Memorials Online, a certificate can be created to show that your class has contributed to a national data collection.
Teachers may also find it helpful to refer to War Memorials Trust's other learning resources when planning to carry out a condition survey with pupils. These can provide pupils with background information about the importance of war memorials and help you plan a safe and effective visit to your local memorial.