A minister who removed the rolls of honour listing his church's war dead has insisted they are "not something you would want to see in the church."

Rev Michael Preston, who became vicar of St Barnabas in Temple Road, Epsom, in 1986, said the rolls of honour were handed over to the Surrey History Centre in Woking the 90s.

Until now members of the church have said they were unaware of there ever having been a memorial at the church to its war dead.

But Mr Preston explained that the rolls of honour were in a box and said there was no evidence they had ever been on display.

Speaking of the WW1 document he said: "It is a piece of paper about A3 in size. We don’t really know what use it had in the church.

"I don’t think it was ever displayed. It was in a box of archive documents going right back to the 1920s."

He said the names in the WWI list were all on the Ashley Road memorial, with several duplicated on memorials at Christ Church, St Mary's, St Martin's and the Methodist Church.

When WWI memorials were drawn up, Rev Preston said the church did not yet have its own parish, vicar or church council but was a 'daughter' of Christ Church and part of its parish.

Of the names, he said: "They were people who lived in the parish but it was not quite clear what the connection to St Barnabas was.

"It is a damaged document and has got holes in it. It is not something you would want to see in the church."

But he said the rolls would be a good starting point to think about how best to mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War next year.

On Remembrance Sunday he asked the congregation: "How does this church want to mark that? What names are appropriate to be remembered in St Barnabas?"

He said he had been planning to respond to a letter about the scrolls from local historian Clive Gilbert, dated August 5, but claimed it had arrived late because it had the wrong address and inadequate postage.

Mr Gilbert, who said he took the address straight from the church's website, said the Great War roll of honour had St Barnabas Epsom incorporated in its design.

In response to the vicar, he said: "They may not have been on display during his tenure but as they had quite obviously been framed at one time, they must have been displayed at some point.

"Rolls of honour were not made and then framed to not be displayed. That the names are on other memorials is irrelevant.

"The congregations at the time wanted their men's sacrifice to be known about. Anyone entering the church should be aware of the sacrifices previous congregations made.

"To remove them from the church is little more than a denial that the men who worshipped at the church fought and died, and is a rewriting of history."

Mr Gilbert said the rolls of honour did not have any holes in them. He said: "They are not in perfect condition, but are certainly not full of holes."

Do you think the scroll of honour is too badly damaged to display at the church? Leave a comment below.

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