The improvements to the garden and landscape around Poole Park’s War Memorial are nearly finished and will be officially re-opened by the Mayor of Poole, Cllr Sean Gabriel, at 11am on Saturday 10th November.
The event starts at 10am with artists from Valise Noir Storytelling theatre dressing trees in red ribbon in a procession from the Cricket Pavilion to the War Memorial and includes an interactive performance of WW1 nurses. During the official re-opening the names of over 700 people from Poole who lost their lives during WW1 will be read out and commemorative postcards featuring their names will be handed out.
There will be family activities between 10am and 1pm, such as painting poppy pebbles, and information on the history of the impact of both Wars on Poole. The event also unveils new information panels and two Silent Soldier silhouettes in the War Memorial garden.
Over the last 6 months the War Memorial, which was originally opened in 1927, has received various improvements :
- sensitive cleaning of stone, bricks and terracotta detailing
- re-pointing of all joints to preserve the integrity of the structures for the future
- crazy paving replaced with new Purbeck stone slabs, including the removal of steps to improve accessibility
- Coping stones replaced on the rose bed planter for a more traditional style
- soil replaced and new roses planted
- a new pedestrian ramped access from Parkstone road allowing step-free access to the War Memorial
- new shrub planting undertaken by the Poole Park Gardening Volunteers
The improvements are thanks to funding from the War Memorial Trust and supported by the National Lottery players through the Heritage Lottery Fund.
A range of events are taking place across Poole and Bournemouth for Remembrance Day and to commemorate the end of WWI, you can find more details here.
Images below: Poppy Fields Postcard commemorating those who fell in WWI, the names of over 700 people are on the rear on a series of 7 cards; the new information panels in production; the new Parkstone road entrance; works in progress to the rose bed and the new memorial paving.
