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Cemetery to be focus of Great War commemorations
Places available on new guided walks on 19 October to set the scene
After tortuous discussions with Swindon Council about the use of the chapel and historic cemetery at Radnor Street, between Old Town and the
town centre, the Swindon in the Great War committee and Swindon Heritage are making big plans to commemorate the start of World War I.
Among st the become central to in advance of the Remembrance • Guided walks will recommence on
33,000 people laid the Great War com- service in November. Further plans Saturday 19 October at 11am and
to rest there between memorative events in include clearing the area around the 2pm. They will be free but donations to
1881 and 1970 are the town during the war graves to enable access during future exhibitions will be welcomed.
104 Commonwealth next four years.” the guided walks and then tackling To book a place call Frances Bevan on
war graves, an unusu- Mark Sutton, mili- other heavily overgrown areas of the 01893 875416.
ally large number for tary historian and au- cemetery. • www.swindoninthegreatwar.word-
a cemetery in Britain. thor of Tell Them of Future exhibitions will include press.com or on Facebook: Swindon
In 2011 a group Us, a comprehensive items from Mark’s extensive collec- in the Great War.
of volunteers, then document of men tion of military artefacts with display • Mark Sutton and Mike Pringle will
called the Friends of from Swindon who boards telling the stories of those publish ‘Great War Britain: Swindon’
Radnor Street Cem- died in the conflict, soldiers buried in the cemetery. There in 2014. www.tellthemofus.org.uk
Left, a Commonwealth war graves
etery, led guided cem- has organised a Re- will also be talks and presentations by headstone at Radnor Street. Below, the
etery walks and held membrance Service other local history groups. current state of parts of the cemetery
local history exhibi- in the cemetery since
tions in the chapel un- 2004. He said: “Last
til Swindon Borough year we were unable
Council expressed safety concerns. to use the chapel, so this latest devel-
The group suspended activities while opment is excellent news.”
negotiations took place with the Mark and the volunteers will deco-
council. And with the centenary of rate the chapel and boarding on the
the outbreak of the Great War due windows will be replaced with perspex
to start in a few months, permission to allow extra light in. Wiltshire Pro-
has been given to resume tours and bation Community Payback Team
put on displays in the chapel. will carry out regular maintenance
Frances Bevan, co-founder of Swin- work at the cemetery.
don Heritage said: “We are delighted Work has already begun on weed-
that Radnor Street cemetery can ing and tidying up around the chapel

Ask Peter B
Ask Peter B
Ask Peter B
Advice for small businesses
from Peter Bromiley ACA
Technical Director
AMS Accountancy Ltd. Swindon SN5 7XF

Q: What will happen to happen to my National Insurance
contributions when the Flat Rate Pension comes in?
From April 2016 a ‘single-tier’ State Pension will be introduced
whereby all workers will build up their rights at the same rate -
taking 35 years to build a full State Pension.
This will replace our two-tier system which is calculated on the
number of years that NI contributions were made (Basic State
Pension), plus the total sum of contributions made (Secondary
State Pension).

Employees who have already paid NI contributions for years, will
be compensated for this in their final State Pension.
From April 2016, everyone’s right to the single-tier State Pension
will build evenly. Many employed people could be worse off
because higher NI contributions will no longer buy a larger state
pension. Good news for Self-employed people who currently
have no right to the Secondary State Pension.

01793-818400 [email protected]
www.ams-accountancy.co.uk

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