THIS year marks the 80th anniversary of the unveiling of the war memorial in Evesham's Abbey Park, writes Gerry Barnett.

But before the memorial was put up back in 1921 there were many public meetings to discuss just where it should go.

Some felt that the memorial should go in the Market Square and there were criticisms that £3,000, although raised through public subscription, was too much to spend. There were also fears that a memorial in Abbey Park would be desecrated by children playing on it.

The site itself cost the town nothing as it was donated by Mrs Haynes-Rudge, of Abbey Manor, who bought the freehold and presented it to the town in the name of her son John Edward Rudge.

At one of the early public meetings in 1919, Mr EAB Barnard, later to become a noted Evesham historian, spoke eloquently about the noble site in Abbey Park and said no more beautiful aspect could possibly be found.

He recalled the Benedictines, who for 800 years offered prayer and praise to the honour and glory of Almighty God there. Adding that Simon de Montfort and his son and many knights and representatives of great families were buried there. Behind the site was the wonderful Bell Tower, which was erected by Clement Lichfield and subscribed to the inhabitants of Evesham and the Vale.

Mr Barnard urged that any utilitarian memorial would be entirely out of place, but Mr GE Nicklin, who was secretary of the Traders' Association at the time, said he had been asked to express the opinion of some traders that £3,000 was rather too much money to spend. He did not think stone walls necessary in this scheme, which seemed to him a "modern pleasure grounds sort of thing." Mr Nicklin added that he would rather see a more heroic monument standing alone and enclosed rather than the money put in stone walls.

Eventually the scheme was approved and sculptor Henry Poole RA was engaged to make the figure of the Tommy on the memorial. When the sculptor died a few years later it was said that although his accomplished and vigorous work was to be seen on many memorials and public buildings, it was doubtful whether he had ever done anything more lifelike than the piece at Evesham.

The Tommy at Evesham, said a report, is not heroic in the generally accepted sense of the term, but is truly typical of the average British infantryman during the war with a face which still carried the hard-bitten imprint of overseas service.

The feature of the figure is its remarkable accuracy with regard to details of military arms and equipment. It is complete even to the cigarette end behind the ear and to the rat-bitten haversack.

The backsight of the rifle is perfectly modelled and the only omission is one that has probably not been noticed. It is that the rifle contains no butt-trap. In view of the fact that the rifle will never need cleaning the omission of this receptacle for the oil bottle and pull-through is perhaps explainable.

The memorial's opening ceremony on August 7, 1921, was performed by the Earl of Coventry, Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, and Commander BM Eyres Monsell, MP, and dedicated by the clergy and ministers of the borough.

A special enclosure was provided by those whom the memorial commemorated. Massed civil, military and town bands and massed choirs took part in the unveiling ceremony.

Ex-servicemen paraded in the High Street and marched to the memorial via Bridge Street and Crown Yard.