‘O that I could but
call this dead to life!
It were enough to
fright the realm of France.
Were but his picture left
amongst you here it would
amaze the proudest of you all.
Give me his body,
that I bear it hence,
and give it burial,
as beseems his worth.’

The plaque was unveiled at 117 Landsdowne Road W11 on Tuesday 28th September 1999. Society Secretary Barry Martin gave a speech which closed with the words:

‘Given much of what I have said this plaque is a beacon nationally and internationally for those not only wishing to pay their respects to this great man but also to those values that he stood up for; resourcefulness and strength in adversity; a belief in the power of the mind as a creative tool that can be developed and nurtured throughout our lives, and given his constant financial straits his belief in the purity of thought unfettered by the chains of commercialisation that many a man of smaller stature has succumbed to, especially when the stakes run high.

He kept honour with himself!

I am most privileged and honoured in unveiling this plaque to the memory of the greatest English chess player of all time - and a modern hero - Howard Staunton.

Three cheers!’