A COMMEMORATIVE project to remember Pershore’s war heroes has received support from a Midlands housebuilder.
Taylor Wimpey Midland, which is constructing new homes at its Mirabelle Gardens development on the northern outskirts of the town, has donated £500 to the Pershore Town Council project.
The council launched a £49,000 fund-raising drive last September to install a stained-glass window in its cemetery chapel as a permanent memorial to those who fought in the First and Second World Wars and contributed on the home front.
The chapel, built in 1875, underwent a major restoration in 2013 as part of an award-winning project which received praise from English Heritage and the District Council
However, the Victorian-era building has leaded windows without any stained glass, so the council saw this as an ideal opportunity to further improve the building and create a new memorial to the town’s war efforts.
Town Council clerk Ann Dobbins, said: “Donations such as this are vitally important and the fact that they are prepared to support the project is a huge boost.”
The chapel’s cemetery contains 60 graves from the Second World War era and eight scattered burials from the First World War, while the town’s war memorial is inscribed with the names of 127 Pershore people who gave their lives for their country.
The majority of the graves from the 1939-1945 conflict are Commonwealth War Graves as two Royal Air Force stations staffed by Canadian and other commonwealth airmen were based near Pershore.
On the home front, Pershore was home to one of the country’s first Women’s Institutes, founded in 1916 and town’s residents helped to set up an auxiliary fire service.
It is intended that the commemoration project will be completed in time for November 11, 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.
Anne Wallace, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey Midlands, said: “Projects like this really do foster community spirit and we are honoured to be playing a part in helping Pershore commemorate its war heroes and the town’s efforts on the home front during wartime.”
To support the fund-raising, application packs are available from Pershore Town Hall or the library. E-mail [email protected] for more information.
