Blue plaque that celebrated wrong woman for decades to be replaced

A blue plaque which has mistakenly celebrated the wrong woman for 23 years will finally be replaced.

The commemorative plaque in the town of Marlborough, which is close to Swindon, credits Eglantyne Mary Jebb with founding the charity Save the Children.

But for decades it has celebrated the wrong woman.

Eglantyne Jebb (1876-1928), born in Ellesmere, Shropshire, was a school teacher and social reformer and the real founder of the charity, setting it up at the end of World War One to help children who were displaced by fighting.

The woman the plaque celebrates, however, is Eglantyne Mary Jebb, who is thought to have been a much younger relative, according to Marlborough News.

The new plaque will be unveiled on Friday by Mervyn Hall, the town’s Mayor, in a ceremony expected to be attended by councillors and local community members.

Mr Hall told Marlborough News the original plaque contained “an unfortunate naming mistake”. He added: “I am very pleased that this has now given us the opportunity to unveil a new one and to celebrate the centenary of Save The Children and the connection of its founder to the Town of Marlborough."

According to the BBC, Sue Round, a writer, spotted the mistake when she was writing a feature to mark the charity’s centenary. "I suppose the internet wasn't available back then, and whoever did the research didn't look into it enough," she told the broadcaster.