A town in County Down is to update its list of local heroes after research unearthed new names of those who died in the First World War.
At the March meeting of the Ards and North Down Council Environment Committee, elected representatives agreed a DUP motion for officials to bring back a report outlining the design, cost and positioning of an additional plaque on the war memorial in Comber.
The aim is to “accommodate a list of historically researched names, currently being collated as per War Memorial Trust guidelines, of the fallen in the Great War 1914-1918, which were previously not included.”
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DUP Alderman for Comber Trevor Cummings proposed the motion. He told the council chamber in Newtownards: “The Comber branch of the Royal British Legion has recently been approached and presented with a list of names, historically researched locally and collated, for the town’s war memorial.
“This information in terms of Comber has just come to light. On receiving the information, the branch started a process as per the War Memorial Trust guidelines, by establishing a working group to further scrutinise the names.
“The council is the custodian of the memorial gardens and the war memorial in Comber. The desire is for the Legion to establish the guidelines around design and positioning of any additional plaques, and to do so in parallel with the process of verification.”
He said: “There is no request for financial assistance, as the Royal British Legion has stated quite clearly, and feel quite strongly that it is their duty to undertake that financial responsibility themselves. It is something that is to be commended.
“An initial meeting between the Legion and the council outlining the plans has already taken place with officers, who have indicated a willingness to work with the Legion.”
DUP Councillor for Comber Libby Douglas, who seconded the motion, said: “I hope we all agree that recognition of people who fought and died, so we can live freely, should not be forgotten. Without their sacrifice we would be living in a completely different world.
“On a personal note, my great uncle lost his life in the First World War, and even though his remains are lying at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, he has a headstone in the Church of Ireland graveyard in Comber, which commemorates the great sacrifice he made.
“This has been a great comfort to generations of my family, knowing that he has given his life so that future generations can live freely.”
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