A barrier has been installed around the recently relocated Harrow War Memorial in the town centre.
This action follows calls from members of the Harrow Online Group on Facebook, who reported that the memorial was being misused by the public for eating, drinking, and seating.
In April, the War Memorial was relocated from Harrow Civic Centre, where it had stood for two decades, to Harrow Town Centre. This move was due to redevelopment plans for the Civic Centre, which are part of the London Borough of Harrow’s regeneration programme.
Last month, a group member posted, “I saw people sitting on the war memorial yesterday, using it to eat and drink. The wreaths were knocked over, so I put them back up.”
Earlier this month, another member shared, “I wanted to address the Harrow War Memorial that has been moved into the town centre. Harrow Council, please install a barrier around the memorial. Unfortunately, people are letting their kids walk on it, play with the wreaths, and then sit on it for lunch. It’s totally disrespectful. We saw this today and it was heartbreaking.”
They continued, “Something needs to be done about this. It’s unfair to damage such a beautiful memorial because some people lack respect.”
A notice in this weeks MyHarrow newsletter from the council said, “We’ve added railings and a ‘Tommy’ honour guard in keeping with the memorial’s significance and to reserve this space for commemoration.
“Access to the site will be opened up for Remembrance services and other special occasions.”
Chris Mitchell is the founder and editor of Harrow Online, Harrow’s leading local news platform.
He launched Harrow Online in 2010 as a Facebook page sharing local news and information. Since then, it has grown into a trusted source for breaking news, crime, council decisions, planning, transport, business and community stories across the borough.
Harrow Online reaches hundreds of thousands of readers each month and has a social media audience of more than 200,000 followers.
For news tips, press releases or enquiries, contact Chris at info@harrowonline.org.
