Moves to tidy up Bangor war memorial

Feb 3 2010

CALLS have been made for the cenotaph in Bangor to be cleaned and maintained after claims the monument is starting to look "drab".

Every year, hundreds of people from the city pay tribute to those who fought and lost their lives in wars and conflict, but the affects of everyday life over the years mean that cleaning work needs to be carried out.

At a meeting of the city council’s finance and general purposes committee, town clerk Gwyn Hughes told councillors about a letter from the British Legion which focused on the condition of the cenotaph.

"The Legion have noted the Memorial Arch has been transformed in recent years and now they want to focus on the cenotaph which is looking a bit drab and needs cleaning up.

"I’ve been looking into this and all stones need cleaning from time to time, although the cenotaph is quite a sensible one because it’s limestone.

"I think the work needs to be carried out by experts and I’ve been talking to someone from the War Memorial Trust who look after monuments like this.

"I’ve looked at the possibility of a grant to help with this work and some money needs to be donated toward this because the cenotaph does need to be updated."

Cllr Les Day agreed, saying: "I think something really needs to be done about the cenotaph because we honour the dead and we honour ourselves.

"It does need to be environmentally-friendly though as not to damage it."

Cllr Eddie Dogan said he believed the cenotaph "should be in the heart of everyone in the city.

"It honours everyone who was killed in the First World and Second World Wars and other servicemen too and don’t forget, there was a bomb dropped on Maesgeirchen during the war.

"I told members of the old Arfon Borough Council back in 1974 and I’ll say the same thing today, the cenotaph belongs to the city of Bangor.

"I would fully support what the town clerk wants to do because the people of Bangor should have the cenotaph which represents the whole city."

Cllr Dewi Llewellyn asked if the cenotaph would come under Gwynedd Council’s Public Realm Strategy, while Cllr Keith Marshall enquired if any other organisations were going to get involved.

Mr Hughes added: "I expect the cost of this to be dealt with when we look at the budget for the next municipal year in the coming weeks."