MORE than two years after the Paarl War Memorial was vandalised, it has been brought back to life.
This memorial was erected on the bank of the Berg River opposite the old Paarl Prison in 1963 by the well-known Paarl granite family the Clifts, after they were commissioned to do so by the town council.
The memorial is a tribute to local residents who laid down their lives for their country during the first and second world wars.
Designed by a local architect, Nathan Kansky, the monument had a brass plate listing the names of the 89 soldiers who died in these wars.
The Clifts were responsible for the actual construction of the monument.
This brass plate was however removed from its rightful place two years ago and presumably sold as scrap.
Ever since then, this memorial to honour the fallen soldiers has been standing in a state of disrepair.
Local businessman Charles Press however saw the need for the restoration of the monument and approached the new generation of Clifts for assistance.
Fortunately they still had the list of names that had been engraved on the plate. They offered to replace the stolen brass plaque with a granite one. This has no scrap value and will hopefully deter vandals from once again removing it.
The only obstacle now standing in the way of bringing the memorial to its rightful place in Paarl, is for the wild olive trees which have grown in front of the memorial to be trimmed down.
Currently they are almost entirely obstructing the view from the Berg River Boulevard.
