"AIR cadet Sergeant Myles Reeve read out the 227 names of Knutsford’s fallen on Saturday at the dedication of the town’s Centennial War Memorial.
The new war memorial commemorates the centenary of the end of the First World War, and was unveiled in the Knutsford Library gardens by town mayor Cllr Peter Coan.
The memorial features the names of the town’s fallen from the First and Second World Wars and subsequent conflicts, and was a project led by Knutsford Town Council, working with Knutsford Royal British Legion.
It features a new roll of honour researched by volunteers and featuring names missed from existing memorials around Knutsford – including two names of Knutsfordians who gave their lives since the end of the Second World War.
The dedication ceremony was led by Rev Philip Robinson, padre to Knutsford Royal British Legion, and included students from Knutsford Academy, who read the roll of honour and two wartime poems.
The 227 names on the roll of honour were read out by head boy Myles Reeve, a Sergeant in Knutsford Air Cadets.
The memorial incorporates the statue of Haron Baronian, a private statue commissioned by the Baronian family, which once stood in the gardens of the family home on Legh Road - Brae Cottage.
In the 1970s the statue was installed in front of the War Memorial Cottage Hospital.
In his welcome to guests Cllr Coan said the town council had decided the town deserved a fitting memorial to its fallen, one that was central, protected and accessible to all.
He said: “I made it my mission - but no mission will succeed without a team.
“So, with the help and support of Derek Empson, Sylvia Chaplain, John Walker and town councillors Simon Hutchence, Tony Dean and Jon Wells-Bradshaw, we find ourselves here today in this beautiful ‘centenary garden’.
“The statue adorning the memorial stones is of Haron Baronian. It is one of only six memorial statues in the country which depicts a known serviceman.
“Haron lived on Legh Road and was killed in Mesopotamia in 1917. The statue was commissioned by his family, and it is with the family’s blessing that the statue now finally becomes part of the town’s Centennial War Memorial.
“Amazingly, we are joined by Haron’s nephews, Steve and Barrie and their wives Patrice and Debbie - it is incredible to have such close relatives of a First World War soldier in attendance.
“This is a day of great pride, and of deep humility: pride, that such men as these were bred in our midst: humility, as we bow before their heroism.
“Let us remember those who have died for their country in war and peace; those whom we knew, and those whose memory we treasure, and all who lived and died in the service of their country.”
During the reading wreaths were laid by David Briggs, Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, Cheshire East Mayor Cllr Lesley Smetham, Cllr Coan and Knutsford Royal British Legion secretary Linda Thomas."
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Councillor Peter Coan
Peter Coan is a retired Firefighter from the Cheshire Fire Service. He as been a member of the Town Council in Knutsford since 2006. He was served as Mayor in 2010 and was elected as Mayor of Knutsford on Monday 14th May 2018, and was supported by his wife Ann as Mayoress.
Councillor Coan raised almost £15,000 during his mayoral year, a record total. The money raised was divided between The Welcome, Knutsford Heritage Centre, Friends of the Moor and Knutsford Community First Responder Trust.
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