Express & Star

Race against time for Dudley war memorial

Campaigners are fighting a race against time to get a war memorial in the Black Country relocated in time for Remembrance Day.

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Residents and councillors have been working for years to get the cenotaph outside Mount Tabor Church, Sedgley Road West, Woodsetton moved.

The war memorial at the Tabor Church in Sedgley Road West
Rubbish currently builds up around the base of the memorial

Around £35,000 has been raised to cover the costs and work to move the monument was scheduled to begin next month.

But a councillor involved in the campaign said it was taking longer than expected to complete paperwork for Dudley Council to adopt the memorial.

Councillor Keiran Casey said the situation was 'very frustrating' but hoped it could be resolved in time for the relocation and restoration work to begin as expected.

He said the aim was to get the memorial installed at its new home - a larger and more accessible section of land further along the road - in time for Remembrance Day.

Residents called for the cenotaph to be moved as the church is no longer used and the monument situated too close to the road for services to be held.

Rubbish also builds up around the base of the memorial.

More than 150 people turned out to a recent event to see the relocation plans and a project about the site staged by pupils at High Arcal School, Sedgley.

Councillor Casey, ward member for Upper Gornal and Woodsetton, said: "As it stands at the moment we do not have an exact date for when the relocation will now start.

"The council is still getting all the paperwork together it needs to adopt the memorial so it can be cleaned and repaired.

"It is very frustrating but I am still hoping the work will start next month so it will be in place for Remembrance Day."

Councillor Casey said at the very least part of the memorial would be in place for a service to be held there.

"If we cannot get the full memorial in place it may be possible to have the main block, which contains the names, in place."

He said the top section, decorated with a cross, needed more restoration work as it had a crack in it.

"We will continue putting pressure on the council to try and get the memorial relocated and restored in time."

There are 30 names on the memorial, which was built by public subscription.

It is in memory of those killed and in honour of the men who went from Woodsetton to fight in the Great War 1914 to 1918.

The names include six men from Woodsetton, three from Parkes Hall and 21 from Swan Village.

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