Dead Man's Penny

This plaque was sold at an auction in April 2018.

Dead Man's Penny for John Henry Highley

It's called a 'Dead Man's Penny' or 'Death Penny'. A Memorial Plaque was issued after the First World War to the next-of-kin of all British and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war. It came to be known as the 'Dead Man’s Penny', because of the similarity in appearance to the much smaller penny coin.

John Henry Highley was from Walsden near Todmorden in West Yorkshire, and one of 3 brothers who lost their lives in WW1.

John Henry Highley

This photo was taken on the sands at Blackpool and appeared in the Todmorden Advertiser and Hebden Bridge Newsletter, 4th December 1914, and is included courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk). Image © Johnston Press plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

A future Blog will tell the story of John Henry and his brothers.