I've recently got back from a meeting at Kingston Upon Thames Council regarding an application to English Heritage for a Blue Plaque in order to honour Margaret Lockwood, a long time resident of the borough. Apparently the current owners of her former home at Upper Park Road are willing to have a plaque erected on their property, for which we are very grateful. It was wonderful that Hilton Tims, author of Once a Wicked Lady, was at the meeting - and his story about Cavalcade never fails to amuse!
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| My mock-up of how the plaque might look |
We're very much in the early stages of this application, which could take up to three years, although I hope that it will be much sooner than that given that the recent Jessie Matthews plaque apparently took only around six months from application to completion. The hope is to have an unveiling ceremony, a commemorative brochure and a season of films at the local Odeon cinema.
In the meantime, however, I'd love to have your thoughts about this application,and any memories that you may have about Miss Lockwood. Please feel free to reply to this blog, write direct to my email, or post a reply to the news article on Silver Sirens; it is likely that there will also be an article soon in the Surrey Comet.
The next Council meeting will be in the second week of January 2012, and although you are more than welcome to get in touch with me at any time, any responses before that date I shall be able to put to the Blue Plaque committee.
