Hull remembers war heroes at restored cenotaph

4 hours ago

Jake Zuckerman,in Hulland

Emma Petrie,East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Each individual stone at the cenotaph in Hull has been cleaned by hand

BBC A wider view of the service at the monument. The Boer war memorial stands in front of the Cenotaph and depicts two uniformed soldiers in a field action stance. — Each individual stone at the cenotaph in Hull has been cleaned by hand

A service to mark the 81st anniversary of VJ Day has taken place at Hull's newly cleaned cenotaph.

Veterans, families and the community gathered at the monument in Paragon Square to mark the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945.

Hull City Council said the stonework of the cenotaph and the Boer War monument underwent a non-abrasive "delicate" clean in July.

Frances Yeaman, 91, laid a wreath for her husband, James, who served as a Royal Marine in World War Two, and said the monuments looked "really beautiful".

Frances is in a wheel chair and wears a blue top with a pearl necklace. — Frances Yeaman, 91, laid a wreath for her husband

"We came up to it and we saw how clean it was... very, very nice, it's lovely," she said.

Jackie Dad, deputy leader of Hull City Council, said it was really important the cenotaph was in a "clean and pristine condition" for the service.

Dad said she was pleased with how the monument had cleaned up.

"The city's proud of its heritage and its fighting men and women.

"It's a real pleasure and a real privilege to be here for any remembrance service," she said.

The service took place at 11:00 BST on Saturday

A close up of the stone work which is now a light cream. Two people stand in front of the monument and three red poppy wreaths are at the foot of it. — The service took place at 11:00 BST on Saturday

The work was carried out by Joel Haigh on behalf of the council.

Haigh said he took the project on in memory of his late grandfather, Len Wooldridge, who took part in the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.

"Each brick has been scrubbed by hand, and it's been a real pleasure," he said when the project was completed at the end of July.

Keith Thompson, 77, a veteran of the Falklands conflict, said it was now in a "beautiful" condition.

He said: "It was getting a bit dilapidated, but I'm really pleased that the council has done that."

Michael Shakesby, 79, added: "Like anything else, we have to keep it clean and keep remembering the people who did the job for us and saved us and looked after us."