COUNCIL bosses have assured the public they will continue to clean a war memorial amid confusion over maintenance.

The issue arose when Ann Marshall, a trustee of All Saints Church, contacted Bury Council to ask who was in charge of looking after Whitefield War Memorial at the junction of Church Lane and Higher Lane in Stand.

The reply indicated the council would cut the grass around the memorial but would not maintain the memorial itself.

Mrs Marshall raised the issue at a meeting of Whitefield and Unsworth Township Forum, held at at Elms Community Centre, in Green Lane, Whitefield, and councillors agreed to look into the issue.

A council spokesman said: “We undertake the grounds maintenance at the site which includes grass cutting, leaf and litter clearance and cleaning the monument when necessary, including before Remembrance Sunday.

“We will continue to do this. As far as structural repairs are concerned, to the best of our knowledge the monument has never been structurally maintained by the council.

“We are looking into the question of who is responsible for its maintenance.”

Although the memorial does not need any structural repairs, council bosses says they are prepared to work with groups and individuals to apply for grants if it is needed in the future. The grade-two listed memorial was built in 1920 after local people raised £2,000 in a public subscription.

It was managed by Whitefield Urban District Council until the council was dissolved in 1974 and the governance of Whitefield transferred to Bury Council.

The Mayor of Bury, Cllr Joan Grimshaw said: “We have a duty to acknowledge the sacrifice of all those people who fought for their country and gave their lives and it is right that the council looks into this issue.”

Marlene Dawson, treasurer of Victoria Estate Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, said: “I would imagine my grandmother must have paid a contribution to the memorial because my grandfather’s name is on it.”

Her grandfather, Isaac Dawson, was born in Huddersfield in 1889, and joined the Army aged 26.He was wounded at Gallipoli and died on February 13, 1916.

He is buried in All Saints’ churchyard.