Sheerness war memorial gets revamp

Published Tuesday 26 April, 2022
Last updated on Tuesday 26 April, 2022

The 100-year-old war memorial in Sheerness has been restored.

Swale Borough Council, Sheerness and Queenborough town councils, Minster, Eastchurch, Warden and Leysdown parish councils, Sheerness United Masonic Centre, Peel Ports and local traders got together to fund the improvements.

The step has been replaced with a slope to improve accessibility and a new wall built to include the names of soldiers, seamen and airmen who were missed off when the memorial was first built.

Cllr Peter MacDonald, founder of the Sheppey War Memorial Trust, said:

“We’ve been campaigning to upgrade Sheerness war memorial for a while, so I’m happy to see it bought back to life.

“It’s heart-warming to see the 988 names that were left off the original memorial have their name included along the new 35-foot-long Portland stone wall, especially the name of those local people from the island who were lost when HMS Princess Irene exploded off the shore of Sheerness in 1915.

“It means so much to their families and the local community to honour those who fought bravely during the first and second world wars both here and overseas.”

Cllr Elliott Jayes, deputy cabinet member for community at the council; said:

“We’re pleased to contribute almost £90,000 to this project from the Sheppey Improvement fund and Sheppey area committee.

“We celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the memorial with a parade and dedication ceremony on Sunday (24 Apr) organised by Sheerness Town Council.

“I want to thank Cllr Peter Macdonald for championing and project managing the work and to everyone who supported and contributed the upgrade.

“This is just one of a number of improvements being made on the Island, including the clock tower which will return next month, improvements at Masters house and work to refresh the high street.”