Original Item: One-of-a-Kind. This is an exceptionally poignant British WWI Memorial Plaque commemorating Trooper Alwyn George Edmond Fisher, 2nd King Edward’s Horse, a young soldier killed during the Battle of Festubert on May 25th, 1915. Fisher was only 27 years old when he was killed advancing with hand grenades for the second time on the German trenches. A friend, who was with him at the time, wrote “I was running with him down the side of a trench, under heavy fire, when a chance shot must have skimmed a low part of the trench. He was struck in the head, and death was immediate; he could never have known anything.” Lieutenant F.J. Lawrence wrote “The Squadron miss him very much, he was so popular with every one.” He is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial, Panel 1, in France.

Fisher went to France in April 1915, and saw much fighting near Cuinchy and in the Battle of Festubert. His service number was 1006, one of the lowest we have seen. More than simply a named “Death Penny,” this example is accompanied by an extensive collection of printed research documenting his short military career, service with the British Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, death in action, and moving contemporary tributes from his friends.

Also included is a printed photograph of Fisher published following his death, together with the substantial body of accompanying research. These materials provide considerably more context than is normally available with a named memorial plaque and allow Fisher’s service and combat to be understood in greater detail.

The plaque itself represents the official British system of commemoration established during WWI for the next of kin of service personnel who died as a result of the conflict. Each bronze plaque bore the deceased serviceman’s name without rank, emphasizing equal sacrifice regardless of military status. Known colloquially as the “Death Penny,” these plaques remain among the most personal and recognizable memorial artifacts of the First World War.

The combination of the named Memorial Plaque, low service number, documented service with the 2nd King Edward’s Horse, confirmed death on May 25, 1915, Battle of Festubert association, contemporary eyewitness accounts, and surviving published photograph makes this an especially moving and historically significant WWI memorial group. Rather than representing an anonymous casualty of the Great War, the plaque preserves the identity and story of a young soldier whose brief service in France ended during one of the British Army’s costly early offensives of 1915.