poppy wreaths honouring the war dead on the town’s memorial have mysteriously disappeared.
People living on The Green in Harefield were shocked on Monday last week to see that the tributes on the war memorial had been removed, but have no idea who did it.
“There’s not one single thing left,” said Lee Lord, whose cottage faces the memorial.
For the past three years he and his wife, Linda, have carefully tied down the tributes with wire so they do not blow into the nearby pond, and they have been there all year round.
“A few years back we were having problems with anti-social behaviour, with kids and drunks sitting on the war memorial,” he said, “but ever since we have kept the wreaths there all year it’s not been a problem – even the police agreed.”
Mr Lee says he rang Hillingdon Council and was told it had not removed them.
“Even the wreath with a photo of a young Harefield man who was killed in Afghanistan last year has gone,” said Mr Lee. “It’s a total mystery.
“My neighbours just couldn’t believe it.”
He hopes whoever removed the wreaths will get in touch and explain why.
“We don’t want this happening again next year,” he said.
He added that he had decided the poppy tributes should remain all year having seen that this was happening at other memorials around the capital.
“I thought it was a nice idea, and then we realised it also helped with the
anti-social behaviour,” he explained.
“I’d been asking the council for years to put a railing around [the memorial] to stop people sitting on it and got nowhere, but this seemed to work.”
? If you know what has happened to the wreaths, call Hannah Raven on 01895 451 051.
