Memorial Fund

I attach the latest news from Paul Greene on the Memorial Fund and what great news it is too! Huge congratulations and thanks must go to all fundraisers and donors for this magnificent result! Dear Jan You will be pleased to know that we have now gained Full Planning Permission to build the memorial, which means our ‘build time-lines’ can now be advertised and work can commence. The stonemason and building contractors are setting-up the site from the 26 July 2010, which is only a couple of weeks away, and I can’t wait; I’m really very excited that this ‘moment in time’ has arrived and I can witness the memorial grow out of the ground in the knowledge also that it will stand proud, looking over the city, with the names of our fallen inscribed upon it, which will be viewed, talked about and remembered for hundreds of years to come. Although building commences on the pathways running north & south from the memorial on around July 28 (just after the site set-up) no work will commence on the actual memorial area until Monday August 09 at 1000hrs. The reason being is that I thought it would be nice to offer an opportunity to our families to get involved in digging the first ‘shovelfull’. This event is taking place over our summer leave period (due to building contractor availability etc), but I felt I could not let the opportunity go by, without some event taking place. It will be a very small event lasting only a couple of minutes, with no religious stance. However, it will involve some local media coverage with the added opportunity to take some wonderful pictures for our Memorial album. The next important date in the memorial build process will be Saturday 04 September 2010 at 11.00am. On this date the three bottom granite/limestone plinths will have been laid and in position and a hole cut out within them, going down the middle some 510mm. This hole will accommodate our Time/Memorial capsule, which will contain items given by our bereaved families. Again, I really think this is such a nice thing to be doing and in my eyes will give the memorial a ‘heart’, and a wonderful one at that. Again, this event, although hugely poignant, will be very much an informal family gathering with perhaps a short prayer before the lid is sealed. Media coverage will be prominent. The final very important date is of course when we dedicate the Memorial, which we intend to do on Thursday 11 November or Sunday 14 November 2010 (date TBC a little later, but I’ll keep you fully informed). I’m sure this service will be heavily supported by the lovely people of Plymouth, who have given so generously over the last 2 years to help fundraise for the memorial. The intention, at present, is to hold an open air service around our very own ‘completed’ memorial, which will incorporate the Memorial Dedication/Blessing service, followed by our very own Remembrance Service, which will finish with the presentation of Elizabeth Cross & Scrolls (EC&S) to all those family members who wish this to be the occasion for their presentations. Just to give you some knowledge of our fundraising figure, we currently stand at around £95K, which is absolutely magnificent and is a truly gigantic effort by everyone who has made such generous and kind donations. The remaining £5k will hopefully come from the VAT incurred by all our construction/architect bills, which I can claim back as soon as we start to build, so with all things going to plan the memorial will be built on time and within budget... that has to be a first! I do hope this gives you and all the readers a feel on what is happening over the next couple of very important months regarding the Memorial. Paul Greene PS: In summary, the dates are as follows: Monday 09 August 2010 - 10.00am - Digging the First Shovel Full. Saturday 04 September 2010 - 11.00am - Time/Memorial Capsule Interment. Thursday 11 or Sunday 14 November 2010 - 10.00am Dedication/Remembrance & EC&S Service.

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