Inscriptions Index

Welcome to the revised Inscriptions Index

The Inscriptions Index is the ideal place for Guild members to contribute material that they might find in a huge array of places; cricket club houses and seat plaques are just two examples.

The original Inscriptions Index was launched in 2013 and currently has 537 inscriptions with 20,741 accompanying names.

The original idea was that we, as members of the Guild, come across surnames lists in many different places such as churches, honours boards in schools or clubhouses, memorials within workplaces, war memorials, blue plaques, stained glass windows, trophies etc., etc.,  These lists of names are often not indexed anywhere else and can be an extremely useful resource.  It would be helpful to others if Guild members could photograph and send in a readable image of such valuable sources of names of people, not necessarily related to each other, but with something in common.

The criteria for what could be included in the inscriptions was agreed in 2013 and remains basically the same:

• The medium should be physical: for example, a wooden board, a metal plaque, an engraved trophy, etc. Paper lists are not eligible although, for instance, a framed list on the wall of a church showing past and present incumbents probably would be.
• The names should not have already been indexed or at least, not in a major way – we are not planning to compete with CWGC (Commonwealth war Graves Commission) or ABMC (American Battle Monuments Commission) or with other similar national indexes.
• A photograph of the inscription must be supplied, and it should be readable. Obviously, only the readable bits can be indexed.  Ideally all names will be readable, but the Index may accept photographs where some names are obscured.

Thanks to the generosity of our members who have submitted to the Index, most of the Index contains a description of the medium, (monument, plaque, board, list, etc.) details of the inscription, the location of the medium and a list of accompanying names, of a very diverse range of source materials.  This information is invaluable in situations where the boards, plaques, lists, etc. have been awkward to photograph or time has eroded names from stone monuments and only a careful inspection on site can reveal them. The images enable people to view sources they would otherwise not have access to and detailed location information also gives others the opportunity to find and view the source for themselves should they wish to.

How to contribute

The easiest way to contribute is to complete a submission form and send it to the Inscriptions Administrator.  Many submissions have more than one image.  Previously if there were multiple images, each had to be uploaded separately. We have developed a new form which allows for multiple images.  All the names from each of those images can be added to one submission form so details need only be completed once. If you have difficulty completing the submission form, please contact the Inscriptions Administrator who will be happy to help.

There are some hints and tips on how to produce an acceptable photograph of your memorial.  Most photographs will have been taken by the Guild member who submits it, so the copyright belongs to them and they are implicitly or explicitly giving the Guild permission to publish (while retaining their own copyright). Otherwise, where the photograph is in the public domain, we’ll happily use it; where the photograph is copyright to anyone else, we won’t – unless explicit permission has been given.

Members should note that they are free to copy the photographs for their own records, but if they wish to publish the images in any way in the future – for example, on their own website – then they must seek permission from the submitter in order to do so.