POWDERHAM Church's repaired war memorial was officially unveiled on Sunday. An uninsured driver demolished it in 2004, breaking the granite cross into several pieces. The plinth that supported it was also dislodged and the churchyard wall damaged. The parochial church council could make no insurance claims as the memorial was not on church property or land. There was also no trace of the driver or owner of the car involved. As the villagers of Powderham had erected the memorial, the PCC took on the task of refurbishing it. However, the tenders were all more than £3,000, and the PCC contacted several organisations for help with funding and repairs to no avail. Fundraising events were quickly set up and donations from the public started coming in. One contact was the War Memorials' Trust, who by coincidence was contacted by Andrea Ormsby, a reporter for BBC South West, who took up the cause. During a series of items on Spotlight in the week leading up to Remembrance Sunday, parochial church council members Gordon Mortimer, Lady Katherine Watney and Jennifer Rowland were interviewed on television. The response from the public was great, with several generous cash donations and offers of time and machinery to help. The work was ultimately done for free by Richard White, of Westcountry Stonemasons Ltd. The memorial is constructed of Blackenstall granite from Dartmoor, a quarry that closed down about 20 years ago. The stonemasons first tried to repair the broken pieces of the cross, but it was too damaged and they had to resort to finding and cutting a matching piece of Blackenstall. The church wall was repaired using Heavitree stone sourced from Powderham Castle. June Collis, a fundraiser, said: 'The whole memorial was cleaned and hand-finished in-situ and looks proud once more. It actually looks larger and grander. 'This year, the Normandy veterans have a vastly different memorial on which to lay their wreath: a memorial that shows respect and our grateful thanks for all that they and their comrades have done for us.' There are now four large boulders of Dartmoor limestone in front of the memorial, surrounded by limestone chippings and held in place with limestone kerbing.
proud once more: Fundraising by the town ensured the memorial could be rebuilt. Picture Alan Craig
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