A NEW information board detailing the history of the local war memorial has been installed in Pool-in-Wharfedale.

The brainchild of historian and Pool Honorary Citizen Pat Lazenby, the structure is now in place in the gardens beside the memorial at the heart of the village.

It was created by local heritage carpenter and joiner Stephen Jefferson, and supported and funded by Pool Parish Council.

Mrs Lazenby, who runs Pool Archives, prepared the words and photographs that feature on the display which explain the origins of a memorial that was originally dedicated to "the men of Pool Parish who gave their lives in the Great

War".

The board includes a quote from a Maskell Mitchell who wrote, in the London-published Fishing Gazette of 1917, that: "Out of our little village of Pool over one hundred young men have joined the Army. The place seems dead now the

boys are gone."

Nineteen of the men who did not return are named on the memorial, with two others remembered at St Wilfrid's Church.

The names of local servicemen who died in subsequent conflicts, including the Second World War and the most recent Iraq War, have since been added.

The memorial was opened on August 4, 1923 by Emily Annie Swallow - who had given the land for it to the parish council three years before.

More than 150 residents donated a total of just over £323 to cover the costs.