Wearside war memorial enjoys refurbishment work

The four lights at the corners of Sunderland's Burdon Road War Memorial have been refurbished.

The lighting columns date back to the 1920s and were installed shortly after the memorial was built. Along with the memorial, the lights are also Grade II listed.

Helping to fit the globes were Coun Michael Mordey, the council's Portfolio Holder for City Services, and Graham Hall, Chair of the Sunderland Armed Forces Network.

CounMordey said: "The War Memorial is one of our city's major landmarks, a focus for many events, and the lighting columns are also part of our built heritage.

"With the refurbishment works, the lights and their columns have a new and longer lease of life.

"The works were programmed to be completed in good time for the 2016 Armistice Day and Remembrance Day Services on Friday 11 November and Sunday 13 November."

The Burdon Road Memorial was completed in 1922. In 2014, to help mark the centenary of the of the First World War, the City Council refurbished dozens of the city's war memorials.

Graham Hall, Chair of the Sunderland Armed Forces Network, said: "The Sunderland Armed Forces Network works closely with the City Council on the upkeep of our war memorials.

"We are all custodians of these memorials so our children and grandchildren also understand the sacrifices that have been made for the freedoms that we all enjoy."

The refurbishment work saw the columns deep-cleaned by shot-blasting, inspected, and re-painted.

All the columns have a 450mm lighting globe and new globes have now been fitted.