Donor steps in to help Milton Regis war memorial
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by Stephen Waite
swaite@thekmgroup.co.uk
A mystery donor has rescued
plans for a new war memorial by donating £15,000.
The stonework at Holy Trinity Church,
Milton Regis, was damaged beyond repair in the 1987
storm.
A committee had raised £20,000 to
replace it but had fallen short of the £35,000 target.
Then, last week, an anonymous caller
pledged to donate the missing money after reading about the
memorial in the Sunday Telegraph.
Milton Regis War Memorial Committee
publicity officer, Elvie Lowe (pictured below left), said: "This
gentleman rang me and said: 'Can I give you £15,000?’ I must have
said 'thank you’ 10 times and never got his name.
"I gave him details of our treasurer and the money is in
the bank."
The Sunday Telegraph article came
about after Keith Nevols, a member of the Holy Trinity
congregation, wrote to the paper, which is running a Save our War
Memorials campaign.
He said: "I wrote in to bring it to
their attention. As a result, someone made the anonymous donation
for the balance.
"I’m really pleased. I always thought
it was strange having a Remembrance Service and laying wreaths at a
hole in the ground. Whoever it is we are very grateful to
them."
Royal British Legion members Rob
Jordan and Larry Smithers instigated a project to replace it more
than a decade ago.
A committee was formed and designers
and stone masons were asked for their ideas, a shortlist of three
was drawn up and members of the public voted for their favourite, a
design by Elliot Brotherton.
However, raising the £35,000 proved
far from straightforward. Mrs Lowe said: "We got to £20,000 and we
just stalled.
"We’d gone to all the places we could
think of. I had even made some labels up to go on tins to go in
shops. We were down to pennies."
The committee had decided to ask Mr
Brotherton if he could create a £20,000 version because it could
not raise the full amount before last week’s boost.
Committee treasurer and Sittingbourne
and Milton Regis Royal British Legion branch chairman Fred
Langworthy received a letter from the anonymous benefactor, a man
who wrote that he had made the donation because his family were
originally from Kent.
Mr Langworthy added: "We’re over the
moon. I’ve spoken to Larry and he’s astounded. Both he and Rob are
getting on and wanted to see it done.
"Larry keeps saying it’s not a glory
thing, it’s to pay respect to those who have gone and made the
ultimate sacrifice.
"Now, hopefully, we can get this show
on the road."
Planning permission for the new
memorial has been granted but needs approval from the
diocese.
The committee is due to meet tomorrow
to decide the next step.
Tuesday, January 31 2012
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