THE vexed question of moving Tavistock's war memorial out of the busy Guildhall car park will be decided by townspeople in the new year.
Royal British Legion chairman George Forbes said they would be calling a public meeting in January to discuss the future siting of the memorial to Tavistock's war dead.
'It's the public who should decide this, not just the Legion,' he said.
The announcement was welcomed by John Philpott, president of the Royal Marines' Association, which favours a re-siting of the memorial in the St Eustachius' churchyard in the town centre.
It came after the Legion's annual meeting, described by Mr Philpott as a 'shambles', last week when some members felt their views had been steam-rollered.
He said: 'There was heated debate with the majority present in favour of moving it out of the crowded car park, but there was a small group of "lower deck lawyers" speaking out against it.
'They didn't know what they were talking about. You never heard such drivel in all your life'
'There were three of them against it. They decided they weren't going to let it happen, and the chairman would not allow a vote to take place; he said it would have to wait until next year.
'It would have been carried, no question.'
A suggestion to let the local council decide a suitable site for the cenotaph, to circumvent opposition to the churchyard site, was also discarded.
'The matter will not go away. Let them go to the public to get their opinion, let's see what the town says about it, not just three or four blokes in the Legion,' said Mr Philpott.
'My single aim is to get it done and I don't care how.'
Mr Forbes said he did not think the annual meeting was the proper place to discuss the matter.
'A discussion was had but it was getting nowhere fast. We decided we'd have a general meeting,' he said.