Wrenthorpe Community Association unveil Covid-19 memorial

The memorial was officially unveiled at the beginning of the month for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The garden was created by Wrenthorpe Community Association (WCA) as a place for local people to reflect and remember those frontline workers, volunteers and loved ones who lost their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The initial idea for the garden came about in March of last year but the project took over a year to complete due to delays caused by the coronavirus.

The memorial, which was built on disused land, features raised plant beds with flowers that were selected to provide colour and interest and a seating area for people to take a break on.

The work was carried out by Asquith Bros and Trinity Landscapes who managed to complete the gardens in time for the weekend following the Queen's Platinum Jubulee on Saturday June 9.

On the day, Margaret Mitchell, chair of WCA, opened the unveiling ceremony with the background history of the garden and why it was created as well thanking everybody involved in the project.

Stuart Millington, one of the directors of WCA, said a prayer to bless the garden and the ribbon was cut by Rosemary Arthur, whose husband David, a long serving member of WCA, sadly passed away due to Covid-19.

Lynn Marrison, one of the directors at Wrenthorpe Community Association, said: "We were aware that a lot of people in the village had been affected by Covid, either through losing a loved one or contracting the virus and having to change the way they live their lives.

"We wanted to create somewhere peaceful where people could go and sit and remember their loved ones or just to take some time out of their day to relax, which is what I hope we've created."

Lynn added: "We had the idea back in March 2021 and a local man and his daughter came up with some initial drawings which gave us a springboard to work from. We took their sketches and amended them accordingly to the garden that we have today."