'WE will remember them' - but 19 Swindon men who died in World War One were forgotten - until a memorial plaque was unearthed in a Gorse Hill garden.

Around two months ago, Paul Jevdet was renovating his home in St Paul’s Street and working in the garden when he discovered the marble monument buried under a pile of rubbish.

The 51-year-old carpenter has since spent eight weeks chasing down leads and trying to find a fit and proper home for the scroll, which is mounted on a granite tablet.

The 40kg plaque holds no direct clues to where it should be rightfully presented, with mention of an unnamed Sunday school the men attended and their names.

It reads: “In loving memory of the following young men formerly of this Sabbath school who fell in the Great War 1914-1918.

“Faithful unto death.”

Calls have been made to The Royal British Legion and The Salvation Army, but as yet Paul has not been given any proper assistance in tracing the memorial’s origins.

“I’ve been trying to get rid of it for two months,” he said. “I’ve rang The Royal British Legion and The Salvation Army, but I’ve not been getting too much joy with them.

“There must be a place for it. It’s a historic artefact from the First World War. Someone somewhere must know more about it.”

Paul, who first moved into the St Paul’s Street address almost one year ago, said the memorial is in impressively good condition, despite its age.

His garden backs onto St Barnabas Parish Church, but he could not see why the church would have done away with such a monument and disposed of it in a neighbouring garden.

The builder was dazzled by the quality of the marble creation when he first came across it as he cleared out his garden as part of a winder renovation of the property.

Clearing away a mixture of garden waste, foliage and rubbish, he discovered the metre-long plaque on the floor, not buried, but hidden under the mess.

“Our garden backs onto their garden,” he said. “We were clearing the garden and we found it. It was at the bottom of a pile of rubbish and garden waste.

“I thought that’s nice, but it’s a shame it’s part of the history of this town, but no-one seems to want to claim it.”

If you have any information on the plaque or the names listed, contact Paul on 01793 932271.

The men listed are: George W. Gee Edgar Marston Augustus J. Strange Harry Gosling Albert J. Stroud Sidney H. Curtis Ernest Hibberd Edward Loveridge Jack Morse Tom Morse George Morse Albert J. Morse Charles P. Beams Richard T. Palmer William Hayward Arthur S. North Ernest Cooper John R. Selwood Walter J. Thatcher