Heritage organisations, including the WMT, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and
the Department for Culture, Media and Sport,
set up the online database to build up a picture of the
state of the nation’s monuments following a campaign by The Telegraph.

The WMT said data from the 12,500 suggested that 10 per cent may be in a
“poor” or “very bad” state. If the same pattern applies to the estimated
100,000 memorials around the country, it would mean around 10,000 war
memorials are at risk of damage.

The WMT has also found that cases of vandalism against monuments have
increased, with 18 incidents reported to the charity in 2013, compared to
just six in 2012.

However incidents of theft from memorials have fallen, from 14 in 2012 to just
eight so far this year. This is down from 40 in 2011, when a spate of thefts
from memorials provoked national outrage.

Ms Moreton added: “It is very encouraging to see that the number of theft or
attempted theft cases to war memorials has decreased further and by such a
significant number. It is however concerning that vandalism still seems to
be a problem.

“Although affecting a relatively small number of memorials, each case causes
distress and upset to the affected community and potential long-term damage
to the memorial.”

The WMT has given grants totalling £164,377 to 73 projects so far this year.

Separately, the HLF, which distributes National Lottery funds, says it has
given £1.2 million to war memorial related projects since the launch of the Telegraph
Lest We Forget campaign in 2011.

It was established amid growing concern over war memorials, many of which have
fallen victim to neglect, vandals and thieves, who target metal plaques for
their scrap value. Others have been lost and damaged when churches and
chapels are demolished.

The threat is highlighted by the story of Lieutenant Leonard Creswell,
told in this newspaper on Saturday. Lt Creswell’s family are trying to find
a home for a plaque in his memory after two churches it was previously
housed in were demolished.

The campaign has been backed by David Cameron, the Prime Minister, and senior
military figures.

It has also secured progress on calls for the prosecution of anyone caught
damaging a war memorial, stiffer sentences for those convicted and tighter
laws on scrap metal-dealing to deter theft.

In a further boost for the campaign, one of the country’s biggest memorials,
the Liverpool Cenotaph, was given Grade I listed status, it was announced
today. English
Heritage are to list a further 2,500 memorials over the next five years
as part of a government programme to mark the centenary.

Among the memorials which have been repaired and restored following the Telegraph
campaign are a limestone cross in Fairford, Gloucestershire, which
commemorates 44 men from the town but which had become discoloured by dirt,
making the names illegible; and a granite war memorial in Craigie village in
South Ayrshire, Scotland.

The monument, to the men from the parish who died in the First World War, was
badly cracked and worn. The WMT gave £975 and £1,202 respectively.

A memorial in Willaston in Cheshire, desecrated by metal thieves, was
also restored following the campaign. A new bronze plaque was cast,
at a cost of £16,000, and fitted to the stone monument after the original
was stolen, while another memorial, in Milton Regis, Kent, was rebuilt 25
years after it was destroyed in the Great Storm of 1987.

An anonymous donor came forward after reading about the lost memorial and
contributed £15,000 to pay for its reconstruction.

*If you know of a war memorial which is in need of repair, please let us
know by emailing warmemorial@telegraph.co.uk or writing to Lest We Forget
Campaign, The Sunday Telegraph, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DT