Click to view attachment A great day had by all A NEW war memorial has taken pride of place in the heart of Nelson – after 22 years of waiting.
And it has been revealed that the new cenotaph, outside the town’s library, will receive Royal assent next month.
The Duke of Kent will be present next month at the first Armstice Day remembrance service for the Nelson monument.
Following the closure of the former Reedyford Hospital in 1987, the town has been without a single place which officially commemorated, by name, those townsfolk who made the supreme sacrifice in conflicts dating back to the Boer War.
But following a determined effort by the Royal British Legion (RBL) and especially Nelson historian Fred Stringer, the gap has been filled.
The opaque cenotaph, in the newly-renamed Memorial Squ-are, bears the names of 1,390 men who lost their lives, from South Africa, through two World Wars, National Service and Northern Ireland, to the present day.
Hundreds gathered to see the York stone monument unveiled and dedicated by the Rev Major John Halllows, including repres-entatives from all the armed services, police, fire brigade and air, sea and army cadets.
The L-shaped monument was covered by a parachute until its eventual debut.
An invitation was also accepted by Lieut Colonel Denis Janelle, of the Candian Military Attache, to attend.
Fallen troops serving in Canadian regiments, who hailed from Nelson, are named on the memorial.
Lieutenant Colonel John Downham, president of the Lancashire county RBL, said: “For many years now the people of Nelson have been without a memorial that has recorded the names of those brave men of this town who went forth and in the service of their country and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
The old cross which has stood in this square was made by the good men of the-then Nelson Council to provide a memorial but there were no names. All that will now change.”
Lord Shuttleworth, Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, who led the dedication, confirmed the Duke of Kent’s Nelson visit and paid tribute to the RBL and all those involved in the design and execution of the memorial project.
No fewer than 23 standards were present at the ceremony, from RBL branches and regimental associations across the North West, to hear the Last Post played by Nelson Band bugler Andy Lord.
Later, the town’s Poppy Appeal was launched for 2009 and the families of those named on the memorial were invited to a lunch at Nelson Cricket Club.