The members of Wellington Urban District Council first decided to erect a large brass plate ‘in memory of the men of the town who made the supreme sacrifice in the war’ at the west end of the reading room in the library during October 1920. The Wellington Journal reported that the cost of the scheme (which eventually amounted to £39.11s.6d —around £1700 in 2019) had been ‘arranged and solely subscribed to by the members of the Urban Council officers and employees in an act which is worthy of high commendation’.

The plate itself was inscribed on the top with the names of 130 fallen servicemen beneath it, although the Journal later revealed (in April 1921) that 160 men ‘were later found to have made the supreme sacrifice’. The mural tablet, as it was described was presented to the public library as a gift of the members and employees of Wellington Urban District Council, and unveiled in during the week commencing the 16^th April. The ceremony was performed by well known local doctor and town councillor George Hollies.