POOLE’S precious D-Day plaque has been shipped off to specialist restorers and is expected to be installed back on the quay in time for Armistice Day in November.

Failure to display the scenic Poole Pottery plaque, which commemorates the role the town played in liberating France from the Nazis in 1944, had been labelled “shameful” and a “disgrace” by residents.

The metre-square plaque was displayed on the old Poole Pottery building on the quay but disappeared from view before it was demolished in 2000.

A condition of planning approval for Dolphin Quays was that the plaque, along with others, one of which is 30 feet long, should be in public view on the building.

The D-Day plaque, which incorporates symbols from all of the Armed Services, was made to commemorate the 50th anniversary in 1994 of Operation Overlord, for which Poole was a major embarkation port.

Poole council has now sent the plaque, along with a smaller cracked one explaining its significance, to the Jackfield Tile Museum at Ironbridge, where the work is expected to take six weeks.

Stephen Thorne, the borough’s recently arrived head of planning and regeneration, who until January was commanding officer of the 3,000-strong Royal Navy Reserve, is overseeing the project.

He said he understood the importance of the plaque to the town and because of his military connections, it was equally significant to him.

Mr Thorne said he had found a suitable position for it at the entrance to the arcade, where it would be sheltered and out of the wind but on the quay and accessible.

“Transporting the plaque to Ironbridge is a significant event and demonstrates our commitment to acknowledge and celebrate our town’s heritage and the contribution it made to the liberation of Europe all those years ago,” he said.

“I am confident the plaque will be superbly restored and back on display by November 11 for Remembrance Day.”