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Labour councillors for Barnsbury ward are to help fund the restoration and conservation of two Grade II listed First World War memorials at Thornhill Road Gardens and St Silas Church.

The restoration works will include hand and pressure cleaning, re-pointing, re-carving of lettering, and general maintenance of memorials in Thornhill Road Gardens, and at Saint Silas Church, Risinghill Street.

Councillors Jilani Chowdhury and Mouna Hamitouche have used their allocation of the council’s Local Initiative Fund to contribute around 25% (£1,700) of the cost of the works, with The War Memorials Trust contributing the remaining amount (£5,000).

The memorials commemorate those from Holy Trinity Church and St Silas Church who lost their lives during the First World War. Almost 10,000 Islington residents lost their lives during the First World War.

Cllr Mouna Hamitouche, commented: “These memorials mark the sacrifice that local people made in service of their country during the First World War, and it is right that we ensure that their memory can continue to be honoured by generations to come by repairing the memorials.”

Cllr Jilani Chowdhury, added: “Almost 10,000 Islington residents lost their lives in the First World War, and I am proud to be able to help restore these memorials.”

The memorial in Thornhill Road Gardens is a Grade II listed Celtic granite wheel cross on a two-step granite plinth. The war memorial is a focal point for visitors to the garden and, as a Celtic cross, is a very unusual form for a WW1 war memorial. The memorial at St Silas Church is also a Grade II listed memorial made from limestone and timber.

Islington Council has organised several events and exhibitions to mark the centenary of the First World War, including ‘The Streets They Left Behind’ project, which included an interactive map which shows where each of the people who died during the First World War lived. Each soldiers’ former home is marked by a poppy on the map, and when clicked displays details about their military action during the war, and their last resting places.

Plaques have also been installed on streets across the borough, commemorating those who lived in those streets and lost their lives in the First World War. The Islington Museum currently has a display telling the remarkable story of a family’s desperate attempts to find a soldier, Hugh Victor Hember, who went missing on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The exhibition is on until Saturday 27 August 2016.

The decision to make the award was made before newly elected councillor Cllr Rowena Champion was elected, but received her full support. 

Pictured – Cllr Hamitouche, Cllr Watts (Leader of Islington Council), and Cllr Chowdhury. 

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