A COMMEMORATIVE plaque which has been missing from the Baptist Chapel at Buckland Monachorum for more than 25 years has been returned. It records the names of five former Sunday School scholars who died in the first world war. When the chapel was converted to a self-catering residential centre for young people in 1981, the brass plaque was removed for safe keeping by Christina Potts (nee Northey), then passed onto her son, Chris Potts. At a celebration to commemorate 25 years since Buckland Monachorum Centre was opened, Mr Potts, from Whitchurch, presented the centre with the plaque. He said: 'Since my mother died I have often thought the plaque should be returned to the chapel building. I am absolutely delighted that, at long last, it will be restored to its rightful place.' When Mr Potts visited the centre he saw a photograph from the 1970s of his grandmother, Bertha Northey, standing with a Plymouth choir with the plaque clearly visible on the wall behind. The five men named on the plaque epitomise the tragic loss many villages like Buckland Monachorum experienced during the war. They also exemplify the war's global nature — one died in France, one with the Australians in Belgium, and three at sea. Tom Maddock, chairman of the centre, said: 'We managed to discover details of who these men were from inscriptions on the Yelverton War Memorial and through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.'
