Memorial Plaque Reunited With Family Of WW1 Soldier
Written by HFM News on 10th December 2021
A plaque dedicated to the memory of a World War One soldier – found is a school cupboard in Kibworth – has been reunited with his family after an appeal on Hfm.
Gunner Frank Kirby, who lived in Leicester, was killed in action in France in 1917 aged 26.
The plaque was found in a cupboard at Kibworth Mead Academy last month and a search launched for any of his relatives.
By sheer coincidence Gnr Kirby’s great grand-daughter, Allison Kirby, who lives in Plymouth, had started researching her family’s history during lockdown last year, and was alerted to our story via Facebook.
She contacted the school and arrangements were made to send the plaque to her.
Allison spoke to Hfm:
Allison Kirby with the plaque
It remains a mystery how the plaque ended up at the school, although Allison was able to provide more details about her great grandfather.
The married dad-of-three, who served in the British Army’s Royal Field Artillery unit, was born in Australia after his family moved there in the early 1890s.
After spending several years Down Under they returned to the UK to live in Leicester.
Frank married Emma Elizabeth Chapman in 1912 in Leicester and the couple went on to have three children.
Lee Holmes, history teacher at Kibworth Mead Academy, spoke to Hfm:
Teacher Lee Holmes with the plaque by the school’s WWI display
The plaque
