Former soldiers overwhelmed as £30k raised for new Staffordshire memorial

They have raised more than £30,000 - more than three times the original target figure - and work has already started on the 15-foot high obelisk that is planned for later this year.

Dave Gouldingay, the 55-year-old assistant secretary of the Lichfield branch of the Staffordshire Regimental Association, declared: "It is shameful for a regiment with a proud history of more than 300 years to be acknowledged with a pile of bricks that looks like a raised manhole cover."

The stone for the obelisk has been bought for £13,500 and is now being cut at a quarry.

Mr Gouldingay, who served with The Staffords during a 16-year Army career, explained: "It will come to us like a kit. We have a couple of members who are stonemasons who will do the final shaping.

"As soon as the weather breaks we will crack on with the base. It will not take long after that before it is completed."

The disbanding of the 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment (3Mercian) last year(2014) after its final tour of duty on the front line in Afghanistan increased public interest in the project as did the centenary of the start of the First World War, although the replacement memorial will not be for any specific era.

Mr Goulingay commented: "The support we have received from the people of Staffordshire has been overwhelming and enabled us to smash through our £30,000 target very quickly.

"We have decided to continue with the fundraising, firstly to give us a small contingency fund and secondly to have a reserve fund for any maintenance that may be required in the future, it would also be nice if we could keep growing the fund to help look after the many Stafford's war memorials that we have scattered all over the county.

"Many ex-Staffords and former members of 3Mercian are appalled at the current state of their memorial site.

"The plinth is constructed of ordinary brickwork topped by a metal plaque. Not only does it look tired and unkempt, it is backed by three tatty flagpoles. The memorial is at Alrewas. That is in our county and this is our county's regiment. We should be leading by example."

The obelisk will be erected on the same site after the removal of its predecessor and money raised for the project that is left after its completion will form a contingency fund to be used to help with the upkeep of the near 190 military memorials in Staffordshire.

The Staffords started life as the 38th Regiment of Foot that was raised at the Kings Head in Lichfield in 1705. It later became the North and South Staffords which amalgamated to form The Staffordshire Regiment in 1959.

This became 3Mercian after another reorganisation of the Army in 2007. That battalion has now merged with 1 and 2Mercian which will both carry the name of the Staffords in their title.