The Memorial Awareness Board (MAB) took the opportunity of what has become an annual reception in the House of Commons this month (11 November) to announce the winners of a consumer photographic competition it ran this year.

Called Dead Art, the competition invited 'then and now' photographs of old and new memorials. MAB says competition was stiff, but the judges chose the entries of Noel Taylor of Barry Island, Wales, as the winner with Alex Jones of Manor Park, London, runner-up.

The judges said of the winning entry: “His images tell a story. And this is what I think pictures should do.”

The competition was an innovation this year in the MAB campaign to promote the idea of using stone memorials to commemorate the passing of lives and to raise awareness of memorialisation issues in the United Kingdom.

The competition was sponsored by SLR Photography and Bridge Insurance. The winner received £1,000 and the runner-up will join Shannon Robinson of SLR Photography in her studio for a day.