Mystery surrounds the disappearance of a historic flag donated to a church after the biggest naval battle of the Great War.

A local historian, who started the campaign to get St Barnabas in Temple Road, Epsom, to reinstate its rolls of honour discovered that the same church was given a white ensign from HMS Warrior that sank after the Battle of Jutland in May 1916.

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Local historian Clive Gilbert at a meeting at St Barnabas in Epsom

An article in the Epsom Advertiser , dated 23 June 1916, said a white ensign from the Warrior had been placed at the church after being brought back by an assistant signaller who was on the 500ft armoured cruiser.

The unknown sailor, who lived in Epsom, was one of the 743 survivors rescued from the burning ship after the battle, during which was hit by 21 shells fired at close range by four German battleships.

The white ensign is the symbol of the Royal Navy, flown on all ships when at sea.

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The missing ensign - which carries the red cross of St George on a white background with the Union Flag in the top left corner - could have been the one flying on the yardarm of the Warrior during the battle.

The church is planning to create a new memorial this year after Clive Gilbert, a volunteer researcher at Epsom and Ewell Local and Family History Centre, found its rolls of honour from the two world wars in an archives in Woking.

Mr Gilbert discovered a reference to the white ensign while looking at microfilm at Bourne Hall Library in Ewell.

Mr Glibert said: "The Battle of Jutland was the big naval battle of the Great War. The British and German fleets clashed in the North Sea.

"The battle cost the lives of over 6,000 British sailors and 2,500 German sailors. Although British losses were greater, the British navy was much bigger than the German navy, which did not engage in any large battle again."

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Of the ensign, he said: "I contacted the church about three years ago and was told no one had seen it. I don't know what happened to it."

Asked last week about the missing ensign, Rev Michael Preston, the retiring vicar of St Barnabas, said: "There is no reference to it whatsoever. We have not got records that go back that far."

In an email to Hazel Ballan, from the history centre, Mr Preston said he could not find any reference either to a candlestick bought by the parents of a WWII soldier who is named on one of the rolls.

But Mr Preston said he had found out what happened to a copy of a painting by famous Italian painter Francesco Francia (1450-1517), which was created by a congregation member during the 1920s.

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He said: "The painting was set into the back panel of what was called the requiem altar and was a copy of the Francia original.

"There was no record of the artist, so who knows? The painting had become very dark with age, apparently something to do with tar based pigments. It was sold in 2003."

Do you know who was the sailor who donated the white ensign? Do you remember the ensign at the church or know what happened to it or the missing candlestick?

Contact Alice Foster at alice.foster@london.newsquest.co.uk.