SOLDIERS joined the community in Calne to commemorate the re-dedication of the town’s war memorial after a £10,000 renovation project.

All 177 names of the men who went to battle in World War One from the town were read out by children during a ceremony, followed shortly after by a parade.

Names of the men were sharpened and deepened and the pathway, created by Sir Reginald Blomfield who also designed the memorial, which had become uneven, was lifted, cleaned and re-laid.

The four year project to repair the memorial raised over £10,000 through the Calne War Memorial Appeal. Soldiers from REME, MOD Lyneham came to the service and paraded through the town on May 26 before unveiling the memorial near St Mary’s Church.

Paul Mayo chair of Calne British Legion said: “There was a sense of achievement but also of pride.

“It has brought the memorial back to people’s attention and now work is going to be done to research the men, find out where they were from and where they went in the war.

“The purpose of the memorial is to remember the 177 men who went to war from Calne and never returned. This has really made the town remember what they did for us.

“It now looks like it did when it was first built. We never wanted it to look brand new but it looks fantastic.

“The whole memorial was specially cleaned and will now remain looking great for the next 100 years.

Mayor of Calne Glenis Ansell, said: “The whole community got involved. When the children from the Scouts, Brownies, RAF cadet force and police cadets read out the names of the 177 men who went to War and the names of those who died in World War II it was a very emotional moment. As they read out all the names it made me think of all those families where several members with the same surname who died.”