Metal thieves cause delay to new Carshalton memorial
9:00am Saturday 4th February 2012 in Where I Live By Matt Watts
William Quattrucci has campaigned for years to get the council to have the names of the dead from world war II added to Carshalton war memorial
The theft of brass plaques from the Carshalton war memorial has further delayed plans to extend it for other fallen soldiers.
War veteran William Quattrucci, 84, has been campaigning for more than 10 years for a memorial to Carshalton’s fallen WWII soldiers, that include his brother Sidney, to be built.
Only the names of WWI war dead feature on the current memorial.
Sutton Council said it was committed to the project to expand the memorial, but a string of setbacks meant two years after funding was released for it, the work had still not started.
The latest delay has come after designs involving metal plaques had to be scrapped for fear the metal might be stolen.
It follows 14 brass plaques with the names of WWI war dead, which feature the names of 240 people from the area killed in battle, being stolen from the current memorial in September.
The council is now drawing up designs with stone plaques for two proposed new pillars that will be added to Carshalton’s memorial gardens.
However, question marks remain over whether there will now be sufficient funding.
Mr Quattrucci said while the theft of the plaques was shocking, the speed with which they have been replaced showed how quickly the council could act on the new memorial if it wanted.
Councillor Hamish Pollock, chairman of the council’s Carshalton and Clockhouse local committee, said: "We are committed to an outdoor memorial to the fallen soldiers of World War II.
"The recent theft of brass plaques from the World War I memorial shocked our community and was a stark reminder of how much residents value these monuments so, while we understand the frustration in the time taken to procure it, we need to create a memorial that is in keeping with its setting in the Carshalton Conservation Area and which will stand proud as a lasting monument to Carshalton’s fallen for decades to come.
"The last thing anyone wants is for a new memorial to be vulnerable to vandalism and, following the recent thefts, we have had to reconsider designs involving metal plaques.
"The memorial is too important a monument to put at risk, and we are now working with the British Legion to design a fitting memorial incorporating stone plaques to match the repaired World War I monument."
