Nineteen members of Ilford High Road Methodist Church are commemorated on a brass plaque which is displayed at Ilford Lane Methodist Church.
The plaque originally featured as the centre-piece of a wooden Roll of Honour which was displayed below the pulpit at Ilford High Road Methodist Church (see photo 2 of the plaque in situ, around 1950).
Ilford High Road Methodist Church originally stood on the corner of what is now Chadwick Road (formerly part of Cleveland Road) and Ilford High Road. In 1959, it merged with Ilford Lane Methodist Church, and on 18th March 1961 the last service was held before the entire congregation transferred to Ilford Lane Methodist Church. It was around this time that the plaque is thought to have been moved to the church in Ilford Lane. The building on the High Road was subsequently demolished.
The whereabouts of the wooden Roll of Honour, of which the plaque formed the centre-piece, remains unknown.
Although the plaque does not bear the church name, church member Martin Fairhurst has been able to ascertain that some the names of those who died in the war match those of some of families of the congregation.
Sources:
Short History of the Ilford High Road Methodist Church, 1883-1933, by Leslie Keeble, Minister, September 1933
Methodism in Ilford Lane 1867 to 1967, Centenary Souvenir Issued in Conjunction with the Celebration of 100 Years of Christian Witness, 14th October 1967
Based on information kindly supplied by church member Martin Fairhurst, 2015.
Biography available.