A PROPOSAL to re-site the Tavistock war memorial from outside the Guildhall to the parish churchyard is to be put to the town council — but it will be opposed by the Royal British Legion.
Supporters of the scheme say the churchyard would be a far better site, away from traffic.
But a committee of the Legion has discussed the idea and rejected it, because the war dead were of many denominations, and none, and they do not think the memorial should stand on Church of England land.
Gerry Woodcock, a local historian, is one of the prime movers of the campaign to move the memorial, which stands in the car park close to the public toilets.
He argued that it was originally intended to be in the churchyard on the corner of Bedford Square and Plymouth Road.
This idea was supported by the relatives of the first world war dead and approved by a public meeting, but a public appeal did not raise enough money so the project was downscaled and moved to a cheaper site.
'Today it does not give enough space for people to stand and look at the names,' said Mr Woodcock. 'A car will knock you over if you try. The memorial does not have the sort of dignity it ought to have.'
He is trying to gain support from local organisations for a petition to the council, which he expected to be submitted next year. He said he did not know how much the re-location might cost but felt it would be within the council's means.
'It's our last act of duty to a generation which will soon slip into the mists of history,' he said.
But George Forbes, chairman of the local branch of the Legion, said the organisation would oppose the application. 'We are all against it,' he said. 'A move to re-site the memorial came up at a town hall meeting a few years ago and we opposed it then and it was dropped. The memorial has been there since the 1920s and it should remain where it is.'
Mr Woodcock is researching a book with Alex Mettler, another member of the local history society, on the 119 men named on the war memorial who died in the first world war. They hope to be able to trace relatives or records for all of them.