Dudley Churchill memorial bid to be launched for anniversary

The campaign to bring back the colourful stained-glass tribute, which formed the centrepiece of Dudley's original Churchill Precinct for more than 20 years, was launched in 2013.

And as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of Sir Winston's death, it has now been announced the vital funding bid for the memorial will now be drawn up.

The original memorial consisted of 17 panels which stretched across a section of the Churchill Precinct.

It was designed by world-renowned artist Edward Bainbridge Copnall and was unveiled in 1969.

The memorial was taken down in 1991 after vandal attacks and weather damage took their toll leaving parts of it in pieces.

Remaining panels were placed in storage after their removal.

At the time if its creation, the adhesive used to hold the panels together was not compatible with the materials used.

Dudley North MP Ian Austin, who started the scheme, has brought together a team which has already met with Heritage Lottery Fund bosses to discuss the project.

Members have now won Dudley Council backing to put together the £100,000 bid to fund the restoration project.

Mr Austin said the team included representatives from community arts project Artspace, which is based in the Churchill Shopping Centre, along with Dudley Council leisure boss Hilary Bills, council officers and the borough artist Steve Field.

They will now draw up the bid which will be submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund for consideration.

Mr Austin said it had not yet been decided how much of the memorial would be restored and what would be recreated.

But he said it was hoped all of the original pieces of the tribute still in good enough condition would be used in the restoration.

"These are questions which will be answered as the bid is being put together," he said.

"We are also working on the question of where the restored memorial will be placed.

"This is a really serious piece of work and we have spent a lot of time getting to this stage. This is an important historical memorial and putting together a bid to HLF requires technical expertise which is why this amount of time has been taken.

"I'm really grateful to all of the members of our team and to everyone who has provided their support and advice.

"I'm also really pleased we're able to make this announcement to coincide with the anniversary of Winston Churchill's death 50 years ago.

"Everyone who grew up in Dudley will remember the magnificent memorial to Winston Churchill.

"I saw it so many times as a child and will never forget the impact they had, making me understand how he inspired the British people not just to fight for Britain's liberty and the values of democracy, freedom, fairness and tolerance that define our country and make Britain the greatest place in the world."

Tina Oliva from Artspace said: "Art is at the core of our community project work and so we are delighted to be part of the campaign to restore such a key, influential piece of Dudley's art heritage and history back to its former glory."

The project has already received the backing of Winston Churchill's grandson and Conservative MP Nicholas Soames.

Sir Winston died on January 24 1965. His funeral was the largest state funeral in world history at the time, with representatives from 112 nations.