A NEW war memorial has been installed in Cross Hills and a local parish councillor is keen to recognise all those who have helped with the project.

The new stone memorial, which has a gunmetal plaque commemorating the names of 57 soldiers from the Glusburn parish killed during World War I, is situated on a piece of land off Park Street and along Main Street in Cross Hills.

"I'm very pleased with the memorial," said Glusburn and Cross Hills parish councillor Patrick Hargreaves. "We've set out what we wanted to do.

"I'm very proud it's done and I hope it stands as a legacy in a nice little corner of the village," he said, adding: "This unused open space now has a real focus."

Work on the £5,000 memorial project, run by and underwritten by the parish council, has been provided by a number of individuals and companies, some giving services for free.

Cllr Hargreaves, who is the project lead, said: "We've been helped by a number of people, and we're very grateful for that."

For example, he said JN Bentley Ltd of Skipton has provided the site preparation and groundworks.

"Part of the team involved in doing this work were three local Glusburn and Cross Hills men - Thomas Fawcett, Alex Trevors and Colin Throupe - who told me they were very proud to be able to help with this project.

Cllr Hargreaves said: "The one thing we've found with this project is that almost everybody from this village has a family connection with the First World War lads."

John Greenwood, director of JN Bentley, said: "The nature of the projects we undertake at JN Bentley means we often work in local communities.

"We want to support these communities with the skills, time and expertise of our employees where we can," he said. "Our team that helped on the war memorial scheme in Glusburn and Cross Hills all live in the local area, and were proud to have been involved in the works."

Cllr Hargreaves also said the physical installation would not have been possible without the work of Glusburn man David Birks, who researched the 57 names being commemorated.

His research was on public display at Glusburn's Fallfest in September and since has been incorporated into an exhibition at South Craven School.

A new information board to be installed at the site will recognise those that helped with the war memorial project.

"It will credit the help we've had from local businesses and local community organisations," said Cllr Hargreaves. "The parish council is also really grateful for the donations that have come from the community."

The idea for the project was launched in April and groundworks at the site began in July.

The new war memorial and plaque will be unveiled on Tuesday, November 11, in a brief ceremony before observing a two-minute silence at 11am.