‘Every name tells a story’: Clean-up for city’s war memorials

PLACE OF REMEMBRANCE: The war memorials in Paragon Square. Picture credit: Hull City Council

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Work to clean and restore war memorials in the city centre begins today.

The specialist cleaning programme is taking place at the Paragon Square War Memorial and Boer War Memorial, also in Paragon Square, and is expected to take three weeks.

The memorials and surrounding seating area will be fenced off while the work is carried out by local contractor Fresh Memory Headstone Cleaning and Restoration Service, Hull City Council said.

Due to the age and the delicate material the memorials are made from, a gentle, non-abrasive conservation cleaning method will be used to help protect the stone and the engraved lettering for years to come.  

Councillor Mark Ieronimo, cabinet portfolio holder for transport and infrastructure at the council, said: “The war memorials in Paragon Square are not just historically significant but are a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by those who served their country. 

“By carefully cleaning and restoring both the Paragon Square War Memorial and the Boer War Memorial, we are helping to ensure they continue to be a place of remembrance, reflection and respect for many years to come.”

Joel Haigh, owner of Fresh Memory Headstone Cleaning and Restoration Service said: “It is a real honour for Fresh Memory Headstone Cleaning and Restoration Service to be entrusted by Hull City Council with the conservation cleaning of these important war memorials. 

“This project is especially personal to me. My grandad, Len Wooldridge, landed on Sword Beach in the second wave on D-Day while serving with the Army Survey Regiment. He later returned to Normandy to pay his respects to those who never came home, and he taught our family the importance of remembrance and never forgetting those who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

“That is why every memorial we work on is treated with the utmost care and respect. Every name tells a story, every inscription represents a life, and our responsibility is not to make these memorials look new, but to carefully conserve them so they continue to tell those stories for generations to come. 

“We are proud to be working alongside Hull City Council to help preserve these memorials as lasting places of remembrance, reflection and respect for veterans, their families and the wider community.” 

The council will also be working with the company and a conservation architect from Seven Architecture Limited to develop a long-term plan for the cleaning and routine maintenance of the monuments.