29-05-2025
Stolen First World War plaque found in scrapyard
A stolen First World War memorial plaque has been discovered in a scrapyard in Essex.
Two 100-year-old metal plaques, which contain the names of dozens of soldiers killed in the war, were stolen last Friday from Christ Church Luton, in Chatham, Kent.
Jonathan Pout, the head gardener, noticed they had been unbolted from the wall on May 24, prompting fears they were to be sold as scrap metal and could be destroyed.
Police have now recovered one of the historic pieces from a scrapyard and arrested seven men, although the other plaque is still missing.
It took four officers to carry the stolen plaque back to the church.
A spokesman for Kent Police said on Thursday: 'Two initial suspects, aged 26 and 25 years, from Dartford, were swiftly tracked down following the recovery of the plaque from an Essex scrapyard on Wednesday.
'Five further men from the Medway area, aged between 22 years and 51 years, were subsequently arrested and remain in custody.'
Pc Alanya Spiller said: 'We received a call about the location of the stolen property and patrols were immediately deployed across the Dartford Crossing.
'We are still seeking the other plaque and urge anyone who may be able to assist to contact us. This includes residents with private CCTV and motorists with dashcam who may have relevant footage.'
The Rev Andrea Leonard, 65, the vicar of Christ Church Luton, said some members of the congregation had been emotional after discovering that the plaques outside the church were missing.
She said: 'It's part of the church, it's part of the community, and in a way it's part of people's relatives.
'People say 'Oh my great uncle was on that list' and people recognise the names on there.
'If the church had been broken into and a computer stolen I'd have said 'Oh, we can get another one'.
'But this is desecration. It's horrible. The fact that someone can have that lack of respect for people that gave everything for us to be free is just shocking.'
The vicar is now urging thieves to 'do the right thing' and return the second plaque to the church.
She said: 'I have been with the police for the last half hour and they have been looking at the CCTV.
'It's just amazing what the police have done. They have told me they are on the hunt for the second plaque and they are still very much hoping it will be found – but the suspects may have been able to sell it.
'We are still hoping someone will do the right thing and the second one will be found as well.
If the second plaque is not recovered, they would be replaced with replicas made of less valuable materials.
