Radcliffe war memorial targeted by mindless vandals

Members of Radcliffe Brass Band, who have taken on responsibility for Radcliffe war memorial on Blackburn Street, were shocked to discover the monument had been vandalised around two weeks ago.

The obelisk commemorates the lives lost during world wars one and two and was unveiled more than 100 years ago in 1922. The band took over caring for the monument from the British Legion around a decade ago.

Radcliffe Brass Band have had to pay £500 to repair the cenotaph (Image: Christine Sykes)READ MORE: Radcliffe litter-pickers and what they find during a cleanup

Members of the band discovered the damage after driving past and noticing that the monument’s key case, which unlocks to allow a flag to be raised, had been broken into.

Christine Sykes, secretary of Radcliffe Brass band says she hopes that someone in the town can help them identify the culprit.

She said: “They’ve tried to get into the key case, and it looks as if its been done deliberately.

“If you look you can see how its been cut across the top.

“They’ve tried to cut a hole out to try and get to the rope and they’ve tried to pull the flag down.”

Christine added that while the group have reported the damage to the police, a lack of witnesses means they have been able to confirm what happened.

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The key case, which allows a flag to be raised on the cenotaph, has been broken (Image: Christine Sykes)

She added: “Nobody saw anything and I don’t think they have CCTV cameras anywhere.”

“We’re hopefully going to get the flag pole mended but it costs more than £500 but the band are paying for it.

Christine says that in the time the band have been looking after the cenotaph, this the first time they’ve had an issue with vandalism.

She said: “You wouldn’t expect anybody to do that, nothing has ever been vandalised before we took over.

“We hope it gets around and someone will come forward.”