Appeal launched to repair damaged Pals war memorial
Light Lines uniquely features faces of the Barnsley Pals, etched onto panels which light up at night.
The award-winning piece was celebrated for its innovation and community engagement, involving local families and school children.
But several panels were recently broken in what is feared to have been an act of vandalism – launching a police investigation and now an appeal for thousands of pounds to restore the memorial in Churchfield Peace Gardens, an old disused cemetery opposite St Mary’s Church, in Church Lane.
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Barnsley Museums has appealed to anyone with information about how the panels were broken to share details with them at [email protected]
The police has also appealed for information and anyone who can help should call 101, quoting incident number 333 of 22 June. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Light Lines was originally a temporary installation outside Barnsley Town Hall, commemorating the Somme's 100th anniversary in 2016. It was moved to its nearby permanent home at Churchfields, in 2017.
Barnsley Museums and Heritage Trust, a charity which raises funds and promotes the town’s museums, was one of the organisations who contributed to this important installation and is now appealing for help in raising funds for its repair.
It honours the 300 men from the town who lost their lives on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916 – a day which saw the heaviest loss of life in a single day in British Military History.
Most of them were men of the 13th and 14th Battalions of the York and Lancaster Regiment, the Barnsley Pals, so-called because they lived, worked, signed up and in many cases died together.
Barnsley Museums are working with the original artists to repair the installation.
Coun Robert Frost, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place, said: “The art installation was broken, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
"What caused the damage has yet to be determined, however we are appealing for witness who may have seen the incident and can provide information.
"We would be absolutely disgusted and disappointed to think that an act of vandalism was directed towards war heroes, who gave so much for their town and country.
"Please help us to restore this much loved memorial and in doing so, honour the lives of those we lost during this horrendous battle.”