Pershore Commemorative Garden
Pershore & District Royal Naval Association have spent many years of hard work and fund-raising to provide a commemoration to our armed services in Pershore and we are delighted that it has finally come to fruition. A steering group of representatives from the RNA have worked tirelessly with Wychavon District Council in consultation with Pershore Town Council to create a garden area at the entrance to Pershore's Abbey Park with a feature commemorative stone on which a plaque will give dedication to our armed forces.
The reason behind this is that our main war memorial is actually sited within Pershore Abbey and it is not always accessible or immediately visible to people who may want to go to it at poignant times. Whilst not wishing to detract from the War memorial in any way, our aim was to create a timeless tribute to those who have both served and are currently serving in Her Majesty's armed services by way of a garden area where people can sit quietly and reflect. The commemorative stone is in the form of a large piece of Cotswold Limestone from Broadway to complement the Abbey and it will have a plaque inset to it. We hope that it will prove an attractive feature for Pershore residents and visitors to the park. The cost of the project was around £8,500 and has been fully-funded ourselves after many years of fund-raising although it will be maintained thereafter by the District Council.
The official opening and dedication of the garden took place on Sunday 8th May 2011 starting with a Remembrance Sunday-style parade through the town centre at 2.45 p.m and the official dedication/blessing at 3pm immediately followed by a short service of Thanksgiving in Pershore Abbey. This marked the 66th Anniversary of VE Day and we purposely selected the time to coincide with the time when King George VI and Prime Minister Winston Churchill officially addressed the nation in 1945 via radio broadcast.
