Member helps restore century-old memorial

For the last six years, injured veteran Ben Cartwright was been on a mission to restore a 101-year-old war memorial in his Hampshire village.

The memorial in Over Wallop honours those from the village who served in the World Wars and the conflict in Afghanistan. Among the names are those of 95 men who fought in WWI, 18 of whom were killed in action.“The memorial was erected in 1919, and though it had been cleaned over the years it was suffering from wear and damage,” said Ben, 75, who served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

“Over Wallop is a small village so the names of all those who served were able to be recorded but most had weathered away. The memorial is in the middle of a junction so vehicles would occasionally damage the base, too. I wanted to reinstate the names so they were recognisable.” After reading an article about The War Memorial Trust, which offers funds to refurbish war memorials, Ben formed the ‘They Also Served’ committee with two fellow ex-servicemen in 2014.

"It took a long time – I had my leg amputated during the project – but the main thing is the memorial records a major part of the village’s history."

The trio raised almost £10,000 through fundraising events and received donations from The War Memorial Trust and the local Borough and Parish Councils. They also spent a great deal of time researching the veterans whose names had slowly eroded from the original memorial. Last October, the renovated war memorial was rededicated in time for Remembrance Sunday, 101 years after it was first erected.

“The stone came from the same quarry as the original memorial, with the work eventually costing almost £100,000.“ I feel very happy that we achieved what we set out to do. It took a long time – I had my leg amputated during the project – but the main thing is the memorial records a major part of the village’s history. I feel a lot of people who come back from conflict wounded or with limbs missing don’t get the recognition they deserve. Getting recognition for those whose names had disappeared was the driving force for me.”