Local French friends Cyrille Delplanque and his father-in-law kindly volunteered to re-assemble the memorials.
Most Friends will by now have heard of the terrible events at the Crater on 26th February this year. We were shocked when told that vandals had been to work there.
The Memorial to the Valiant Woman of All Nations was kicked off its base and the component parts scattered about. The Royal Engineers’ handsome, ‘Moles’ badge was kicked over and pulled from the ground and the orientation panel was broken from the top of the visitors’ plinth. The vandals also kicked George Nugent’s Cross but thankfully that was undamaged apart from a chalk boot-print.
Local French folk rallied and repaired the damage very quickly. Funds were raised by Wenches in Trenches for any further repairs to the Women’s Memorial. The French authorities were superb in their swift action and support and we thank them wholeheartedly. This was only the third serious attempt at vandalism in 40 years of Richard’s ownership of the Crater and we can only feel sorrow for the perpetrators. There is no useful purpose to hold malice against a handful of individuals when there are countless good people who appreciate and support the Crater. (By Iain Ross-Fry)
