BY IAN BARKER
It took more than five long years of mourning, planning, public meetings, fundraising and community spirit for the Stoke community to see its project to have a memorial erected in honour of the seven Stoke men who gave their lives during WW1, come into fruition.
The first public meeting was held in the Stoke Hall, a predecessor of the Stoke War Memorial Hall, in February 1919, when suggestions were made as to what form a memorial should take.
A committee was established, and suggestions put forward included a swimming bath, ornamental gates to the recreation ground, a sun dial on a column, improvements to the public hall and a public park or garden. Under the chairmanship of Mr H Ching the meeting agreed to establish a Stoke War Memorial Fund.
In December 1919, the next public meeting was held to consider costs with the most favoured idea being a memorial arch of reinforced concrete with marble inserts for the inscriptions of the names, together with beautifying the grounds east of the tennis courts, at a cost of 600 pounds.
By April 1922, 460 pounds had been raised and after a further 15 months, plans and specifications for the proposed memorial were considered.
It was at this time that families of the fallen, including the Jellymans and Giblins, offered to supply memorial trees and seven were planted, one for each man.
Monday, 3 June, marks 100 years to the day since the memorial gates were officially opened and there will be some re-enactments of what took place, at 2.30pm, which will be worth a look for those who are interested.
Before the re-enactment ceremony takes place, the council will be attaching plaques to the seven trees, with the name of a fallen soldier on each.
