November 2005 - Renovation of the
War Memorial is Finished
Thanks to some hard work by several people, the renovation of Wivenhoe's War Memorial was completed in time for November's Annual Service of Remembrance, but only by a few days. In 2004, Maurice Clary of the Wivenhoe branch of the Royal British Legion approached then Town Mayor, Cllr Peter Hill, seeking support for the idea of renovating the War Memorial. Plans were drawn up and were supported by the Town Council. An application to the War Memorials Trust for grant support was made but was refused on the grounds that the work proposed constituted an improvement and therefore outside the terms for which a grant could be made. A Fund to meet the refurbishment cost was therefore proposed by Cllr Peter Hill and launched at the VE Service in May 2005 by Peter Hill and Pastor Patrick Baxter, Chairman of the local British Legion. The Fund started with the proceeds of the VE Service collection and a £500 contribution from the Mayor's Charity Fund. For report of the Fund's launch, click here. A month later, three Wivenhoe residents, Dave Whymark, Brian O'Neill and Nick Murphy-Whymark organised a dinner at the Officers Mess of the 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery. Officers of the Regiment created a splendid occasion (click here for report), resulting in a profit of £2,750. This meant work on the War Memorial could proceed. Working with local stonemason, Aaron Clarke, a polished granite was chosen to set off the base of the Memorial to complement the rough granite of the rest of the Memorial. This granite came from China and was duly ordered. The order however clashed with a trade dispute between China and the EU and was held up for a while, putting pressure on time. In the meantime, the Town Council's groundsmen, Jim Young and Andy Hearn, got on with preparing the base and setting in kerbing. The fact the Memorial is built on a slightly sloping path presented its own challenge. In October the granite arrived and was laid around the base. Adjustments were made to the kerbing, to get its height right, and caps were made to hide the bolts fixing the granite panels in place. And in the week before the Remembrance Service, the tarmac path was repaired to complete the effect. After month's of planning, effort by Maurice Clary and Richard Gladwin of the Wivenhoe branch of the British Legion, and hard work by Jim, Andy and especially stonemason Aaron Clarke, present-day Wivenhoe residents can be proud of its Memorial to those people who lost their lives in the wars of the last century. Thanks are due also to the many people who made contributions to the Fund, contributing to collecting boxes around the town, or attending events, including the VJ Dance in the William Loveless Hall in August which made a profit of £637 that was donated. Overall £4,678 was raised more than covering costs (see income statement after photographs). The balance over costs of around £4,000 will be donated to Halsey House, a care home run by the Royal British Legion at Cromer in Norfolk, so that the living as well as the 'fallen' will benefit by this initiative started by Maurice Clary. To see more information about the War Memorial and the names inscribed on it, plus information about some of the people who died, click here
The War Memorial Fund raised £4,678 from:
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