On behalf of March & District Museum I would like to respond to Anne Steward’s letter regarding the exchange of railway locomotive nameplates that featured prominently in your newspaper on July 18.
When English, Welsh & Scottish Railways offered two nameplates to March & District Museum in 1998, it intended that we should have one Benjamin Gimbert GC and one James Nightall GC.
At that time, it did not realise that both those from James Nightall had been disposed of. To honour its effort, we were instead offered two Ben Gimbert GC nameplates.
As a museum we proudly put both on display in the main the room for all to see and consider.
It had been a long-term ambition of the museum to track down the whereabouts of the James Nightall GC nameplates. We went many years ago to view one James Nightall nameplate but we were unsuccessful in acquiring it.
Then about four years ago we were approached to see if the owner of the other James Nightall GC nameplate could exchange for one of our Ben Gimbert GC nameplates. After a long period, we reached a satisfactory conclusion to our negotiation.
The museum hopes that Anne Steward did not think that Mrs Dedman, Ben’s daughter, would collude in an exchange that would deprive March of a nameplate that honoured her father.
We are now proud custodians of one each of the respective nameplates and they hang together in the museum.
Ben’s medals were bought by Mr Christopher Clayton and presented back to the town. They are also displayed securely for the benefit of the town.
AMANDA CARLIN
Chairman
March & District Museum
Via e-mail
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