Old soldiers remembered on London’s last roll of honourAN APPEAL is under way in Remembrance Week for information to find fallen soldiers’ from the Second World War for one of the last honour rolls to be erected in London. War dead from Soho are to be commemorated 70 years after St Anne’s parish church was destroyed in the Blitz

By Mike Brooke

AN APPEAL is under way in Remembrance Week for information to find fallen soldiers’ from the Second World War for one of the last honour rolls to be erected in London.

War dead from Soho are to be commemorated 70 years after St Anne’s parish church was destroyed (pictured) during the Blitz.

The church lay derelict for decades before reopening 18 years ago and never erected a memorial, partly because of outward migration which depleted the parish population of 60,000 to less than 4,000.

Many parish records were lost when the original 17th century church was destroyed in a Luftwaffe air raid on September 24, 1940. A commemoration is planned next September, on the 70th anniversary, when parish Elders hope to erect a memorial at last.

“This is a debt of honour that needs to be rectified,” said Rector David Gilmore. “It’s sad that our church is approaching 70 years since the Blitz before something is being done.”

Months of intense bombing between 1940 and ’41 razed large parts of London to the ground, especially around London’s East End and the London Docks. The City and West End also took a heavy toll, with 143 Soho residents known to have died.

Anyone with information about soldiers from Soho who died during the war are being urged to contact The Rev David Gilmore by email here or by phone: 020-7437 8039.