Keyworth War Memorial - an open letter from
the Council chairman

Dear Residents

I had hoped there would be no to need to write this letter, but, in view of recent developments, it has become necessary to explain the situation to you, and especially to those of you with relatives named on the war memorial in the village.

The Remembrance day service is not about Keyworth Parish Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council or Nottinghamshire County Council, but to honour and remember those who gave their lives in the service of our country.

At last year's Remembrance service, held at the war memorial erected by Mr Cameron Ross on his property, Mr Ross refused access to his property, and the memorial, to two Borough Councillors and one County Councillor who were there to pay their respects and lay wreaths. An undignified scuffle took place and the police were involved.

Due to illness, I was not present, but received numerous reports of the incident. As a result of my enquiries, I subsequently suggested to my fellow Parish Councillors that we must not allow a repeat of such a disrespectful incident, which had the potential for causing much upset. All of your Parish Councillors agreed.

I tried to contact Mr Ross personally, by phone, letter and email, to discuss the idea of putting his memorial into public ownership, but he refused to discuss the matter with me. After consultation with the British Legion, it was decided that a new public war memorial should be erected on public land, where any member of the public would have access at any time.

To this end, the Parish Council identified a site in the village square, and applied to Nottinghamshire County Council for a grant for the new memorial. We now have to wait until spring 2012 to find out whether the application has been successful.

Tony Grice (Chairman Keyworth Parish Council)

21.10.11