Memorial stone is unveiled in tribute to county's war heroes
A UNIQUE memorial has gone up in tribute to Cheltenham's fallen war heroes.
A service was held to unveil the monument stone in honour of British military personnel from across Gloucestershire and the South West, who have given their lives in conflict since 2000.
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sombre: (l-r) Lord Lt Sir Henry Elwes, Christopher Baker, Lt Col Matthew Petersen, Lt Cdr Martin Rhodes, Sgt David Wakefield and Squadron Leader Al Tano
More than 150 representatives of the Army, Navy, RAF and Royal Marines gathered at Memorial Woodlands, a cemetery in Alveston, near Bristol, to inaugurate the tribute.
Sir Henry Elwes, Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, read the service's opening prayer and laid a wreath at the memorial stone. Cemetery founder Christopher Baker said: "We hope it will provide the perfect setting where people can come to pay their respects."
The memorial is made up of a square of oak saplings, a circle of hawthorns and a large slab of granite with the inscription "In honour of those who have given their lives in the service of their country".
Colonel Petersen, commanding officer at Bristol University's Officer Training Corps, said: "The South West has a lot of military connections and it is a lovely gesture to set up a memorial."
Comments
by Mal, Local
Saturday, May 22 2010, 3:02PM
“A large memorial to all the civilians of the County killed in Wars would not go amiss,too!”