Lost gas war memorial to be at centre of Remembrance Services after finding new home in Wolverhampton

The memorial was unveiled at the West Midlands Headquarters for Cadent, the regions gas network, on November 11 last year.

Carved on the five foot marble plinth are the names of the 200 Birmingham Gas works employees killed during the conflict.

Originally unveiled in 1921, It took 18 months for the workers of the gas department to raise the £550 needed to pay for the memorial.

That is equivalent to £31,000 today.

For many years the memorial was left abandoned in a leisure centre car park.

In March 2015 it was moved to Birmingham Museum's Collection Centre and following tireless work from the families of the fallen named on the memorial, it was restored by Birmingham Museums Trust.

Now the memorial has found a home.

Placed in a specially built garden, it sits proudly in the Cadent West Midlands headquarters in Planetary Road, Wolverhampton.

Elliott Nelson, network director for Cadent in the West Midlands, said: “I think I speak for all of us here at Cadent in the West Midlands when I say we are honoured and privileged to be able to be able to offer a home to the memorial that commemorates the sacrifice of our fellow gas workers.

“The families of those named on the memorial will always be welcome here to come and remember their loved ones."

Kevin Gibson has a special link to the memorial – his great uncle Richard Bartholomew Sweet was born in Birmingham and enlisted in the First World War at the age of 17.

Richard was killed in action in France at the age of 21.

Kevin said: “What Cadent have done here is really special. It is quite overwhelming to see the memorial restored and placed somewhere so prominent.

“There are over 200 names on that list, it’s quite staggering to think the number of families out there who have loved ones named on the memorial and don’t even know it.

"It’s wonderful to now have somewhere to come and remember those who died for us."