Veteran soldiers joined Army and Air Cadets for the rededication of a war memorial in Lostock Hall.
A parade attended by the Deputy Mayor of South Ribble Coun Dorothy Gardner was held on Sunday to mark the relocation of the monument, from Lostock Hall Methodist Church to Brownedge Road.
Coun Clifford Hughes, who helped organise the event, said: “Earlier in the year the Methodist Church in Watkin Lane closed down and the building was put up for sale.
“I was approached by a couple of the parishioners, who asked me what we could do about the war memorial in the church grounds.
“As it happens some years back in 1995, when it was the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, the Catholic Club held some street parties to celebrate with the old veterans.
“The money we had left over we spent on building a little cairn on a plot of land in Brownedge Road, where we put a plaque celebrating 50 years of peace.
“Ever since that time on Remembrance Sunday we’ve walked from the Royal British Legion down the road, stopping at the cenotaph for the service and the laying of wreaths by the veterans and the mayor.
“When we walk back we stop at this cairn and the youth including the Cadets and the Scouts lay poppies on the cairn.
“So I decided the only thing to do would be to move the war memorial onto this little piece of land.”
Groups from across the village raised money to help move the memorial.
They were then helped by Global Renewables, a waste management and recycling firm with a base at Farrington, which was looking for community schemes to support.
Coun Hughes, 72, added: “It was still a bit of a grotty patch of land.
“A couple of weeks ago 20-odd people arrived on site, including Global Renewables staff, and worked with volunteers.
“In a day we tidied the whole site up, painted all the fences, planted flowers and put paths in.
“It looks superb now. We had already planned a rededication, so this really was the icing on the cake.
“It’s been a real community project and now we are ready for Remembrance Sunday.”
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