Executed Convicts Honoured on CWGC Memorial

Remembered With Honour?

At Brookwood Military Cemetery stands a memorial to those Army personnel “..whom the fortune of war denied a known and honoured grave.” On the monument is the inscription “Their Name Liveth For Evermore”. Well, not exactly in all cases, perhaps.

This memorial has the names of eighteen convicted and executed murderers (including one double child killer) and the name of one executed spy who may well have been responsible for very many British deaths. They have “no known or honoured grave” because they are buried in British prisons and the Army seemingly forgot or failed to give them a dishonourable discharge the day before execution as was the way with RAF or RN murderers. Thus, Gnr Ernest Kemp, RA, is perhaps one of the very first Army casualties of D-Day. He died on the gallows at Wandsworth at dawn on 6 June 1944 for the brutal murder of WAAF Miriam Deeley.

The MOD refuse to have the names removed. One of their arguments is that: “this would cause distress to the families of the executed felons.” Oh, really? So it doesn’t matter about the feelings of the families of the victims, then?

I have pending an HM Government e-petition to campaign to have these names struck off, but this comes against the background of an announcement that another Army murderer who was executed is having his name ADDED because it had been left off in error. To me, that is somehow worse than a failure to remove the other names.

In this, the CWGC are blameless and beyond reproach. It is MOD policy, not the policy of the CWGC.

I hope there will be interest here in signing an e-petition if is approved. I believe that one of the first signatories is likely to be a family member of WAAF Miriam Deeley.