Plan to honour Upper Gornal fallen heroes gets go ahead

Councillors Adam Aston and Keiran Casey launched the project to make further improvements to the war memorial in The Arcade working with residents and the Tenants and Residents Association.

The funding secured by the councillors, which comes from landfill site operator Enovert and McDonalds plus kind-hearted individuals, will be used to build a new wall around the existing memorial which will then have the names engraved of all those who were killed in WWI and WWII which are currently on the memorial boards inside St Peter's Church across the road.

Further improvements are also in the pipeline which would see an interpretation board installed to give more detail about those named on the wall and also some subtle lighting.

Councillor Keiran Casey said: "It's fantastic news that we have been able to secure this funding and we're really grateful to everyone that has supported us, particularly to Enovert, the individuals that have donated to the project and to the local McDonalds store in Upper Gornal.”

"It's so important that we never forget the sacrifices local people have made fighting for our freedom and we are really pleased that the memorial in The Arcade has become a real focal point right at the centre of the community."

L-R Bob Beckett , cllr Adam Aston, cllr Keiran Casey and Abi Smith with the Tommy

Councillor Adam Aston added: "We started the project for further improvements as we and local residents feel it is important to have the names of those brave local people that went to fight to defend our nation on public display.

"As part of the funding we have secured, there will also be an interpretation board installed giving more detail on the names of the local people on the memorial wall and also some subtle lighting.

"This is another community project that just shows what we can all achieve when we work together to make our area and even better place to live, so we are very grateful for all the help and support we have received on this."