A new war memorial will be formally opened on Saturday 15th August in Queens Park in Swindon’s Town Centre. South Swindon Parish Council has organised a service for VJ Day on Saturday 15th August- taking place between 11.30 and 12pm (refreshments available from 11am). The event has been organised to honour people who served the war effort both at home and abroad. The service is being held at Queens Park in Swindon’s Town Centre and the war memorial will be formally opened by the Mayor of Swindon in the park’s Rose Garden (the Groundwell Road entrance to the park).
To honour people who served in the war effort both abroad and at home the Parish Council has also painted a new world war themed mural (see attached) and we will be attaching posters of WW2 service personnel and civilians around Queens Park (as well as at GWR Park and Town Gardens- see attached).
We will be operating a track and trace system at this event so if residents would like to attend the formal opening of the new War Memorial we would be grateful if they could tell the Parish Council in advance by emailing planning@southswindon-pc.gov.uk or by calling 01793 312006. All media representatives are welcome to cover this event and a Parish Councillor would be available for an interview prior to the VJ Day Service if requested.
The Parish Council’s World Wars Working Party oversaw the war memorial, mural and posters projects. Its Chair, Councillor John Firmin, said, “The Parish Council wanted to mark this significant occasion with a new war memorial. The theme of the memorial is to remember those who served in the war effort domestically. Everybody rightly remembers the service personnel who fought abroad, but it sometimes gets forgotten the role people played in the war effort domestically. For example, Swindon residents took a lot of child evacuees when the war started and also housed American Service Personnel when America entered the war in 1941.
People who attend the memorial’s opening will also get an opportunity to view the new war-themed mural on the wall overlooking Queens Park lake and there will be posters tied to trees in Queens Park of people who served in the war effort.
We will be operating a Covid safe event so social distancing guidelines will be followed and we will be operating a track and trace system. We hope this event will be supported by the Swindon community.”
