Ludlow council reject plan for names on war memorial
A campaign to have the names of the fallen put around Ludlow's town centre war memorial has hit a dead end as town councillors have voted not to support the plan.
Despite months of fundraising and research by local campaigners, Ludlow Town Council has decided not to support adding a new plinth to the memorial with names of those lost in the First and Second World Wars - but those behind the scheme say they will not give up, and intend to take stock and re-apply.
The names currently appear in nearby St Laurence's Church, but the memorial in Castle Square is blank, except for the simple inscription "Lest we forget".
Margaret Edwards and Jean Parker, sisters who run Poyner's clothes shop in Broad Street, had hoped to raise money to get the names added to the memorial to mark of the centenary of the First World War.
But despite staging various commemoration events to raise money, the idea has now been rejected by the town council, who voted seven to three against the plan.
Mrs Edwards said: "We're very, very disappointed and saddened about it as we thought it would have been a fitting tribute for those men to have their names around the memorial, especially as over the next four years we'll be marking the centenary of all those battles.
"It would have been something to say Ludlow has done something to mark the centenary of the First World War. We've been speaking to a lot of the families that have lost people and they all thought it was a wonderful idea.
"We know the stories of those men now, they've come to life for us and we wanted to honour them.
"We sent planning applications in, we raised £700 and were setting up a bank account, and had plenty of publicity for it.
"We're all a bit baffled. I think we can re-apply, which we intend to do.
"We don't want to give up, we've made a promise to to families that we'd try and achieve it for them."
Thurza Sibbons, a member of Ludlow Royal British Legion who helped raise money for the project, said: "I think it's disgusting. I don't see the point in them stopping it, we're not asking them to pay for it."
But Councillor Jim Smithers said that the war memorial was originally purchased by the Royal British Legion with a grant from the former District Council, when it was agreed it was for all wars, and no further inscriptions would be added.
Councillor Colin Sheward said the names of the fallen were recorded in other areas of the town and the proposal would change the war memorial's appearance completely.
The council resolved the memorial should stay as originally intended.
