Cold Ash First World War memorial plaque returns to family

Frederick Arthur Withers was one of 32 men from the parish to be killed in the conflict and the stories of the men of the memorial were put on display at an exhibition arranged by the Cold Ash Parish Heritage Group in November.
Frederick was called up for service in 1916 and was assigned to the 2/1st Berkshire Horse Artillery.
The 21-year-old died on March 23, 1918 when the Germans attacked in overwhelming numbers and penetrated the Allied lines by up to 40 miles as part of the Ludendorff Offensive.
His medals, along with a letter, Christmas card and photograph, were sent to his parents in December 1916. The items were displayed at the parish exhibition courtesy of his great niece, Maureen Harrow, but one item was missing.
Following the exhibition, a builder carrying out renovations at Cherry Cottage in Bucklebury Alley, where the young Frederick Withers grew up with his eight brothers and sisters, and later helped run the family cartage and wood-dealing business with his father, discovered the lost artefact.
He presented it to the co-ordinator of the exhibition, Peter Seward, who identified it as a memorial plaque sent to the Withers family in commemoration of the loss of their son.
Following the losses at The Battle of the Somme in July 1916, the British Government created memorial plaques to send to relatives of the fallen.
The plaques, made of bronze and featuring an image of Britannia, soon became know as a death penny or death plaque and while some families kept theirs as a tribute to their fallen sons; others either returned or discarded them, feeling it poor compensation for the loss of a loved one.
In this case, Mr Seward said that Frederick Wither’s plaque appeared to have been thrown down a well.
Mr Seward said: "Knowing how much I treasure the memorabilia handed down to me from my relatives who fought in WW1, I can well imagine how delighted the Withers family must be to have the plaque back in their possession. I'm pretty sure both current and subsequent generations of the family will take better care of it in the future.
"It is ironic to think that the plaque was re-discovered by a builder in the process of excavating a trench. But he too, must be commended, in the first place for being sufficiently sharp eyed to have spotted the discarded plaque - being made of bronze it would have been well camouflaged in the mud and earth; and, secondly, for his altruism, as he brought it along to our exhibition for us to display."
"I think the whole of CAPHG team were pleased with the success of the exhibition but for it to have been the catalyst of the reunion gave us all a warm glow."
The heritage group reunited Mrs Harrow with her great uncle’s plaque; bringing it and his medals together for the first time in nearly 100 years.
However, they set the condition that the plaque was to be kept with the family and not thrown down any more wells.