Nottinghamshire County Council's first world war memorial at Ossington restored to honour villagers
A village memorial that honours those who fought and died in the first world war has been restored 100 years after it was built.
Names on the memorial, at Ossington, had become difficult to read over the years, but can now been seen clearly thanks to a project to renovate it.
Residents and visitors gathered at the memorial on Saturday to remember the men from the village who fought and died in the service of their country.
The event marked the completion of the renovation project, which was prompted by relatives of some of the men listed.
Ossington parish clerk Janet Carr said: “They were concerned the names were becoming illegible after almost 100 years, and this sparked the project to clean the memorial, perform minor repairs, and renovate the inscriptions.”
The memorial lists the names of all 31 men from the village who went to war, not just the ten who died.
The work was carried out by Mark Gill of E. Gill and Sons (Memorials) Ltd, of Newark, pictured above.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s local improvement scheme helped fund the work, with the War Memorials Trust.
After an act of remembrance, an arc of juniper trees was planted as a backdrop to the memorial.
There were refreshments and an opportunity to view the village’s book of remembrance in the village hall.
The county councillor for the area, Bruce Laughton, said the memorial provided a fitting focus for the whole community to pay their respects to those who had died in service.”
War Memorials Trust director Francis Moreton said: “ It is vital that we ensure all our war memorials are in the best possible condition for their age and the charity is delighted to support this project.
