Derry town set to get war memorial
Plans to build a five foot war memorial complete with bollards, lighting and a temporary flagpole in the centre of Magherafelt in Co Derry have been lodged with the Mid Ulster Council’s Planning Department.
The Magherafelt branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) has submitted plans to build the monument between the two carriageways at Broad Street to commemorate World War I and World War II’s dead.
The proposal is for a granite memorial, half the size of the replica of the National Cenotaph in London.
If the application is passed, the monument will include panels bearing the names of those who died on each of the four sides.
On the two longs sides, there will also be the inscription ‘Our Glorious Dead.’
It is understood that back in 2012, during Public Realm discussions, representations to consider a war memorial for the town were made but these were unsuccessful.
In an earlier submission, a member of Magherafelt RBL said ‘looking back’ to the former Magherafelt District Council set-up, ‘Magherafelt is the only town which does not have a war memorial.’
The member added: “Taking the old council area into consideration, there were 350 who died during WW1 some of these are commemorated on existing memorials in Castledawson, Garvagh, Kilrea Moneymore and the proposed new memorial in Tobermore. This leaves around 180 who have not been publicly remembered.
Local DUP councillor, Ann Forde, who is also a member of the Royal British Legion, said she was ‘hopeful’ the application would be passed.
She said: “The application to build the war memorial has now been lodged with the planning department. A lot of work and negotiations behind the scenes has taken place so we are very hopeful that it will be passed.
“A war memorial for the people of Magherafelt is something that I wholeheartedly welcome. This has been a long time in coming and I think it is very significant given the 100th anniversary of the Great War and the Battle of the Somme, it will be well worth the effort,” said Mrs Forde.