A VILLAGE has united to restore its war memorial and mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

Residents from almost all the 400 homes in Churchill and nearby hamlet Sarsden, near Chipping Norton, made a contribution to the £1,500 fund to refurbish the village green memorial.

Villager Peter Warburton organised a collection to make sure the monument was in good condition as the 100th anniversary of the Great War was commemorated.

The 70-year-old said: “It looked a little bit grey and shabby so we thought it would be a good idea to clean it up.

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“We asked people in the village to help out and virtually every house in Churchill and Sarsden gave something.

“It’s the first thing you see in the village when you come from Chipping Norton and it’s particularly important that it looks good over the next four years as we remember those who sacrificed their lives in the war.

“People take a lot of pride in what we do here, which is reflected in the fact that so many people wanted to be part of it.”

The work, which was completed in time for Remembrance Sunday earlier this month, included cleaning the memorial, coating it with protective material and repointing the stonework.

Mr Warburton, who has lived in the village for about 10 years, has no military background but is interested in the Great War.

He said: “If you get something in a village or any community it should look good or it shouldn’t be there.

“The biggest worry was it would look too bright but it has a nicely coloured Cotswold stone look to it.”

Churchill and Sarsden Parish Council chairman Martin Bradshaw said: “It was an absolutely brilliant idea and has transformed a somewhat drab-looking monument to something quite sparkling.

“You couldn’t have timed it better as we reflect on the 100-year anniversary.

“It really touched some people that the community was doing this now and it reflected well on what the rest of the country has been doing.”

West Oxfordshire District Council member for Churchill, Neil Owen, said: “The Churchill community is absolutely unique because they do so many things together and raise so much money for different things.”

 

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