Memorial appeal hailed a success

Mr Knight, general secretary of the Fellowship of Services, said teaming up with the Advertiser had been a major boost for himself and campaigners from the Friends of Clifton Park.

A memorial for Rotherham’s fallen of World War Two could now be in place in the park by Remembrance Day.

“The publicity we have received has been enormously helpful,” he said.

“Before the Time To Remember campaign started our fundraising was going steady, but slow.”

Terry said the Advertiser not only helped to boost the money raised, but also helped in gathering the names of the servicemen and women who will be included on the memorial.

“There was an article in the paper in 2010 which listed all the names we had currently researched and after that I received so many calls from families whose names we had already got and also ones we hadn’t yet.” he added.

“The funds continued to tick along and then we met with the editor Andrew Mosley in 2013 and he was enormously enthusiastic about starting a campaign.”

Terry added that as an ex-serviceman this memorial finally coming to fruition now means he would not “agonize anymore”.

Cllr Peter Wootton said: “The Friends have done an amazing job.

“The whole project has been led, funded and designed by volunteers, the council has given guidance, but it’s all down to the efforts of the volunteers.”

Andy Lee, urban green spaces manager at Rotherham Borough Council, said: “There are memorials all over the borough, but they are all specific to that community.

“This will be the only memorial with names of all the fallen from Rotherham in one place.”

For more on this story, pick up this week’s Rotherham Advertiser.