Edmonton police are now asking the public for help locating missing war memorial plaques, also called death pennies.
“These plaques were sent home at the end of the First World War to families of fallen soldiers. It was impossible to repatriate all the remains, so in lieu of human remains, they sent these memorial plaques back,” said Joe MacDonald, a regimental historian with the the Loyal Edmonton Regiment Association.
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In March, around a dozen plaques had gone missing from the century-old Edmonton Cemetery in the city’s core, where 107 Avenue runs through it.
Edmonton police say they believe the collectors may have purchased the plaques online, not knowing that they were stolen.
In the last few weeks about seven plaques have been returned, and now the city is planning on restoring and reinstalling the plaques to the headstones from which they were taken.
MacDonald is hoping to find the families of these fallen soldiers and reunite them with the plaques.
“We’re looking for numerous families trying to find the best thing to do with these returned plaques whether to put back onto the family tombstone, or put it in a museum, or return back to the family to prevent further theft,” said MacDonald.
Police are asking anyone who has information or has purchased a plaque to call Crime Stoppers.
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