Plans are being made for a new way to reflect and remember in Wokingham’s town centre.
A peace bench, donated to the borough by the Rotary club, is to be moved as part of plans to regenerate Market Place, and it is hoped that it will find a new home in Elms Field.
And, as part of the project, specially commissioned mosaics will be made to help create a new area for people to stop and remember, particularly those who died in conflict for the country.
Wokingham Town Councillor Imogen Shepherd Dubey is one of the people who is backing a petition calling for the borough to establish a new war memorial in the town centre to act as a focal point for people who wish to pay their respects.
Launched last week, the petition points out: “Wokingham does have an excellent war memorial to commemorate the lives lost to war, but it is tucked away inside the Town Hall and is rarely seen by the public…
“We are asking for a space to be made available for an additional memorial, for all our people, in all conflicts, in the past, present and future.”
So far more than 100 people have signed the petition and Cllr Shepherd Dubey said that she had received lots of emails and Facebook comments of support from people.
“It’s something that has been talked about for many years,” said Cllr Shepherd Dubey of plans for the memorial. “It’s not political. With the regeneration, there’s the sense that we should be doing something.
“It’s also finding something for the modern era. I’m personally not in favour of a traditional lump of stone, I don’t think it’s the way to go in the 21st century.
“This is a thing of peace, not of war. The men who fought in the great war thought they would be fighting for a lasting peace.That’s what’s it’s all about.”
Cllr Gwynneth Hewetson, who chairs the town’s cultural committee, told The Wokingham Paper that plans were being made for a special mosaic to go with the peace bench when it is moved and refurbished.
She said: “We want something very close to the bench, something that would look really nice. It could be about reflection so anyone could use it for their own reflective thoughts.
“We have asked an artist to put together a design on the theme of reflection.
“The finished work is due to go in Elms Field, we’re currently negotiating about this. We want to put it in a peaceful place.”
To sign the petition, visit www.change.org/p/wokingham-borough-council-wokingham-public-war-memorial
