A VETERAN has renewed calls to have 250 names of soldiers from Edgware who died during the Second World War to be added to a memorial.

Reg Lacey, 81, is asking Harrow and Barnet Councils to come together to add the names of the fallen to the memorial which sits just inside Harrow's boundary on the Edgware Road.

The Kenilworth Road resident, who served in the army between 1946-1948, said: “Last Remembrance Day I marched to the memorial in Stonegrove with the Royal British Legion and noticed there were no Second World War names on it.

“I think these names should be on there, they were young men who died fighting for our country and protecting our freedom.

“A lot of the people who visit the memorial are from our borough so I think the council should make a contribution towards having these names added.”

In 2001 the Times Series reported a similar campaign run by another veteran, David Tomlin, who had compiled a list of names he believed should be added.

Councillor Chris Mote, the deputy mayor of Harrow, has been looking into the issue with Barnet's deputy mayor Cllr Hugh Rayner.

He said: “We have been looking into this issue for a number of years and there is no easy answer. There are a lot of names which have never been added to memorials.

“The problem we have is if we miss someone out once we have added the names there's nothing we can do about it as they go on in alphabetical order. Once they're engraved they are there forever.

“One option which has been looked at is a book of remembrance, as if you miss a name you can just add a page in. We have been trying to meet with the relevant groups for a while to find a way forward.”

He said a similar exercise in Pinner showed the scale of the issue when 400 names which were not on any memorial in Harrow were discovered.

However, former RAF man and member of the Barnet War Memorials Initiative Cllr Rayner did not rule out the possibility of having the names added to the memorial.

He said: “What we don't want to do is go along with a hammer and chisel and put the names on and then find out there were other people we have missed out.

“These memorials were set up after the First World Ware as a commemoration, so there are some who say names from the Second World War.

“The number of people needing to be added could be prohibitive as there is only a finite amount of room on the memorial.”

He said there were complications with a number of the memorials in the borough, but added: “We will not take Edgware in isolation.

“Certainly it is more complicated because it is a joint issue between Harrow and Barnet, but we cannot rush into anything.”

However, Mr Lacey said the idea of a book of remembrance would be “okay” but added: “How many people would know it was there to go and look at? With names on a memorial they are a focus for people to visit.”

What do you think of the idea to inscribe the names? Leave your comments below.