Removal of Wreaths

[Richard Fisher]

Good Morning,

As well as trying to spend as much time researching Vickers MG usage as possible, I do have to do a day job as the policy manager for the streetscene unit at a local authority.

The recent winds have highlighted a gap in our management strategy as they resulted in the wreaths on the town's war memorial being blown down the main street.

In previous years, the wreaths have been removed at, what has been considered by some, an early time and the Authority has received bad press; however, this year, it is felt by some that they were left too long, resulting in a mess and unsightly appearance around the memorial.

The information I am seeking is whether there is any 'approved' time period after 11 November that the wreaths can be removed; furthermore, how should they be dealt with. While many would like to leave them there as long as possible, including myself, this want needs to be balanced with the operational difficulties of keeping them in place. I am seeking to find the best balance which I can then put forward for approval and replication across the area.

Any assistance would be appreciated as I wish to ensure this sensitive issue is treating correctly.

Regards

Richard

[T8HANTS]

I would suggest you contact the Royal British Legion and Old Comrades groups in your area, high light the problem than come up with a working solution that suits all parties. Some wreaths are hollow and could be weighed down with sand. Or you could arrange that there is a light twine around the memorial that the wreaths could be tied to.

My preferred option would be to go for the weighted wreath, which when the time comes for disposal chose a filling that will not cause a problem.

Gareth

[Terry_Reeves]

Richard

You will never win with this sort of thing. Perhaps you could follow what happens at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, which would give you something on which to base a reasonable reply to the critics. The ceremony is organised by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. They can be contacted on 020 7211 6200.

Terry Reeves

[Richard Fisher]

Thanks for that Terry. I was going to research some other authority's policies when I went to work on Monday so the DCMS will be a good place to start as, to be honest, I hadn't realised it was within their remit to organise such a thing.

Regards

Richard

[gem22]

Richard

You may well find that no 'official' policy exists. In my own village the decision on when to remove wreaths from the memorial is down to me. I'm the Poppy Appeal Organiser for the local branch of the RBL.

I do my best to make sure that wreaths do not blow away by fixing them with twine (as neatly as possible).

The majority of wreaths will stay in place for 6 months and then I will remove all of them but place a fresh RBL badged wreath on the memorial. That will stay on until the day before Remembrance Sunday.

It may seem a long time to some but that is the way our villagers like it and I wouldn't dream of going against what they want. After all the memorial belongs to the village and the people should be allowed to have their say.

I drive past many other memorials on my way to work and I know that different places do different things. I have seen one memrial with dark brown twine wrapped round the wreaths and memorial to keep them in place.

As another poster said you should really get feedback from your local RBL and Parish council as between them they are responsible for Remembrance and for the upkeep of the War Memorial.

Garth