Bilston war memorial to be restored to former glory
Bilston war memorial is set to be restored to its former glory under plans to go before council leaders.
The War Memorials Trust is considering providing £30,000 of the £46,000 needed to complete the project.
The remaining £16,000 will be paid by community interest group Bilston Remembered.
The project will see the restoration of the original railings and walls around the town centre memorial which fronts on to Oxford Street.
It will also restore the bronze sword and damaged sections of Portland stone. Names will also be added of war casualties and deaths. The project is expected to be approved at a cabinet resources panel meeting next Tuesday.
Councillor Stephen Simkins, who represents Bilston East: "It's very good news for the town. Bilston Remembered has worked really hard.
"Hopefully we can do right by that part of Bilston and bring it back to life, not just for remembrance events but all year round.
"It's a tribute not only to the servicemen and women who lost their lives but the people who have worked so hard to get it restored."
He added: "It will be refurbished and it'll get cleaned. The brass on the front will be restored as well.
"When it was first built in the 1920s there was no such thing as The War Memorials Trust. It was the Bilston and Bradley people that had to generate the money. In a way it's like history repeating itself with all the effort that Bilston Remembered members have gone to.
"We will be able to hold annual events there, and hopefully we'll be able to do something extra special in 2018 (centenary of the end of the First World War).
"The Bilston Royal British Legion Branch has also been a big part of this. Peter Murphy (chairman) has worked tirelessly. I just hope they can get a few more members.
"I'm really pleased to be a part of this."
Peter Murphy, treasurer of the Bilston Royal British Legion branch and a member of the Bilston Remembered group, added: "I'm looking forward to things moving in the right direction. We're aiming to have it ready for 2018, but we'll have to wait and see.
"We've got a memorial in the cemetery here in Bilston. It would be good for all the names of our lost servicemen and women to be together, but planning and carrying out these things costs time and money.
"The Bilston Remembered group has worked hard and it's been a good team effort."
