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Portsmouth WWII Memorial

882. Jean Louth

Jean Louth, aged 84, from Portsmouth, spent 27 years campaigning for a World War II memorial plaque in Portsmouth which features the names of 3,436 people who lost their lives during the war.

Despite Portsmouth being a military city, there was no memorial plaque until Jean created one, inspired by her father who was killed in Dunkirk. As a result, Jean has helped to honour approximately 1,000 civilians from Portsmouth killed during The Blitz, alongside over 2,000 servicemen and women who gave their lives. By securing £27,000 of funding from Portsmouth City Council, Jean has created one of the few memorials of its kind in the country and regularly speaks at Remembrance service events as a spokesperson for the ‘Portsmouth WW2 Memorial Fund.’

In a personal letter to Jean, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

“As a nation, we have a duty to honour those who sacrificed their lives for our country. Through your dedication to commemorating those who were killed in World War Two in Portsmouth, you have given many people in your local community the opportunity to pay their respects to their lost loved ones.”

Jean said:

“I cannot believe I have been recommended for this award. I am just an ordinary woman but when I discovered there wasn’t a War Memorial in our great city of Portsmouth for the service men who fought and died during WW2 I had to do something.  My father was one of those men who were killed during the war; I wanted to see his name honoured on a memorial in the city of his birth and so began my 27 year campaign.  I am so grateful I was able to achieve this. I am honoured to receive this award for my efforts.”

The daily Points of Light award recognises outstanding individual volunteers - people who are making a change in their community.

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