CORPORAL ARTHUR MCINTYRE
WEST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT
27TH FEBRUARY 1917 AGE 35
BURIED: GOMMECOURT BRITISH CEMETERY NO 2, FRANCE
Many families chose this inscription since it had the sanction of officialdom. These were the words the Government chose for the memorial plaque they wanted given to every man or woman whose death was attributable to their war service. The general design of the plaque was put out to competition but the wording was not open to negotiation - he or she were to have died for freedom and honour.
More than 800 people submitted designs and the winner was Edward Carter Preston, a painter, sculptor and medallist from Liverpool. I hadn't realised before that the competition and therefore the winning design predates the end of the war, Britain hadn't won, in fact the day after the results of the competition were announced the Germans launched their Spring Offensive and many feared that Britain might be on the brink of defeat. Britannia with her laurel wreath honours the dead not victory, the dolphins represent the navy and the lion Britain itself. No wonder the small lion savaging the eagle at the base of the plaque is so small, there could be no triumphalism because there wasn't yet any victory.