Work set to start on Bradford war memorial (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Victims of conflicts since 1948 will be commemorated at city-centre gardens

8:00am Tuesday 19th February 2013 in News By Jo Winrow, City Hall Reporter

Work is due to start later this month on a new war memorial in Bradford city centre dedicated to those who have died in action since the Second World War.

The detailed design work has been finalised and planning permission is in place for the memorial, which will be installed behind the Cenotaph in the memorial gardens near the Alhambra Theatre.

The project will also involve providing a new path and seats in the gardens.

The memorial was first proposed by the widow of Sergeant Peter Rayner, who died in Afghanistan, in 2010, as a way of remembering those who had fallen since the Second World War.

Bradford Council has been working with the Royal British Legion on the project, which will take the form of a low wall faced with York stone with the names engraved on the front.

It will be positioned next to the Queen Victoria memorial, on the opposite side to the Bradford Pals memorial.

The entries on the new monument will include the name, rank and year of death, below the phrase Lest We Forget. Space will also be left to allow for more names to be added in the future.

The memorial will commemorate those soldiers from the district who have died in active service in wars or terrorist action in such places as Northern Ireland, Egypt, Malaya, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan.

A total of 29 names have been received and have been checked against the database on the Veterans UK website and with the register office. The Council has followed the guidance of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, with the memorial commemorating deaths from January 1, 1948, onwards, as this is recognised as the end of hostilities for the Second World War.

David Bennison, technical officer at the Council, said: “It has been an honour to have been involved in erecting a new monument which will remain in the city centre for many years to come.”

Barbara Allsopp, of the Bradford Central branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “I think the memorial is a great idea.”

Initial works are expected to last seven weeks.