City war memorial revamp starts ahead of Remembrance ceremony
Work has started to revamp a city war memorial ahead of a ceremony to mark Remembrance Day.
The century-old First World War memorial cross at the junction of Compton Road and Crawford Road, Wolverhampton, is undergoing a renovation after falling into disrepair.
This week it has been put through a specialist cleaning process by William Parratt Stonemasons to restore its grey and black stone features to their former glory.
The memorial commemorates the lives of 22 soldiers from the Chapel Ash and Compton area who lost their lives in battle.
Park councillor Mike Hardacre, who has funded the £3,000 revamp out of ward funds designated for community projects, said the "forgotten" memorial had been in desperate need of some care and attention.
"You can already see the improvements taking shape and I'm hoping that it will look absolutely stunning for the ceremony next week," he said.
"I want it to be a fitting memorial for the 22 young men from this area who sacrificed their lives for the freedoms that we enjoy today.
"I can only thank the contractors and the local authority for carrying out this work to such a high standard.
"We hope that as many people as possible turn up to the ceremony next week to celebrate 76 years of peace since the end of the war."
The memorial stands at the site of the former Trinity Wesleyan Church and was originally unveiled at a ceremony in 1920. It features the inscription ‘Faithful unto Death’.
The service will take place from 10.40am on November 11. It will be led by Deacon Linda Gilson and is set to feature a bugler and a two-minute silence.
