VETERANS are prepared to go all the way to the European Court of Human Rights to prevent the relocation of the town's cenotaph.

They also have two other moves planned in the fight against last Thursday night's vote by councillors to move the war memorial to the edge of Civic Square as part of a £3m Government-financed facelift.

George Statham, chairman of the Ellesmere Port branch of the Royal British Legion, which has been spearheading opposition to the relocation, said: 'I was at the meeting and felt very angry and bitter at the outcome.

'At one point I felt so disgusted about what was going on that I almost stood up and walked out.'

The former Cheshires soldier added: 'We are not going to surrender and have a few moves in mind.

'Firstly, we are already talking to our legal people about taking out an injunction to prevent the council moving the cenotaph.

'Secondly, we are looking at the possibility of reporting the council to the Local Government Ombudsman for the way this matter has been handled, which we think was a disgrace.

'Ultimately, we are prepared to take the matter all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.'

A borough council spokesman said this week that a starting date for moving the memorial had not been set and such a move was 'not imminent'.

The Rev Gordon McGuinness, rector of Ellesmere Port Team Parish and chairman of the Local Strategic Part-nership, said: 'Remembrance is too important to be owned by one sector of the community. If we are to continue to honour the dead, remembrance must move with the times.

'As someone who's been a chaplain to the forces, it's my view, having seen the plans and design features that the council has produced for re-siting the memorial, that the new plans keep remembrance in the centre of our community. Even if it is not in the centre, the new Civic Square actually enhances the memorial.

'Now is the time for the Royal British Legion to accept the councillors' decision.'

Approval 'is not a sign of disrespect'

A BOROUGH councillor said he wouldn't be 'dictated to' by the Royal British Legion over the repositioning of the town centre war memorial.

Cllr Peter Shephard, a former Royal Marine, was one of the 26 councillors who voted in favour of moving the cenotaph as part of a £3m Civic Square redesign.

Just eight councillors voted to keep the memorial where it is at a meeting on Thursday. There was one abstention.

Talking about the 4,769-name petition against moving the memorial, Cllr Shephard said: 'I regret its tone, suggesting that if you don't support it you're disrespecting the memory of the people it represents.

'How dare anyone presume that if I don't do what they [the Legion] dictate, it means I don't care about them.

'The memorial is dedicated to people who gave their lives so we today can give our opinions.

'Whether we move the memorial 10-20ft is not the issue, it's whether we want to move it to improve it.'

He received a round of applause from his colleagues.

Council and Labour group leader Fred Venables said this wasn't a political decision, and his colleagues could vote according to their consciences.

Cllr Venables said: 'I am satisfied appropriate consultation has been made with the public. It implies no disrespect to move it.'

Tory councillor Robert Crompton, who was in the RAF for 30 years, said the memorial would 'command attention' in a new position in Civic Square.

But he said: 'The timing of the work is important, so if doesn't clash with any services of remembrance.'

Labour's Tony Sherlock said: 'A lot of money has been spent to ensure people have been consulted.'

Deputy council leader Reg Chrimes said: 'We have to learn lessons if the consultation fell short of desirable. But it did take place.'

Cllr Chrimes, who served in the RAF, added it was 'repugnant' to suggest he was insulting the memory of fallen soldiers by supporting moving the memorial.

However, Tory group leader Myles Hogg said: 'It's a complete red herring to say we'd lose £1-2m from the Liveability Fund, which is funding the Civic Square work, if we leave the memorial where it is.

'It should stay there as a focal point for remembrance. The proposed water feature represents nothing.'

Independent member Ian Ormerod said it was like moving the headstone of a grave.

He said: 'An unnamed councillor told me it was being moved because it's too public. I find that shocking.'

Labour councillor John Wilson said: 'Why don't we design around the memorial?'

'I'll never vote Labour again'

DESPITE being a long-term Labour supporter, Ted Roach says he will never vote for the party again.

The 85-year-old Second World War veteran made that vow when the Labour-controlled borough council voted to relocate the cenotaph to Civic Square.

Mr Roach, of Wellesley Avenue, had two reasons to be in the public gallery listening to last Thursday night's debate.

Apart from being a prominent member of the Royal British Legion's Ellesmere Port branch, he is the grandfather of the last soldier to have his name added to the memorial, Corporal Marc Taylor, who was killed in action in Iraq last year.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Roach said: 'I am absolutely gutted about the outcome. They might not have been under the whip but Labour councillors definitely toed the party line on this.

'I fully expected the council leader Fred Venables to side with us but instead he supported moving the cenotaph. At one point Labour councillors even applauded.'

Mr Roach, who helped to collect some of the almost 5,000 signatures for a petition calling for the memorial to be left alone, said: 'Call that democracy. Well, it's not the sort of democracy I fought for in the last war. All my life I have voted Labour but I won't be voting Labour again after this.

'We have been conned rotten. When we were consulted about what the council planned to do in the square we only agreed to slight alterations around the stone. Not once did we ever agree to moving that stone.

'We've got a bill from 1980 showing the Royal British Legion spent £8,000 on the cenotaph. To me that means we own it and nobody has the right to move it.'

He added: 'The water feature they want to put where the cenotaph now is will be a mess like the one for Diana in London.

'They've told us it will have lights that change colour and that on Armistice Day it will turn red - but I saw enough blood-red in the war.'

Just after the Falklands War in which he was killed, the name of Royal Marine Commando Paul Callan was added to the cenotaph.

His partner Jackie Dowling, of Great Sutton, the mother of his 23-year-old son Paul, said of the decision: 'I'm disappointed by it. Although they discussed it at this special meeting, I think that was just a formality and councillors actually made up their minds about this weeks ago.

'What worries me now is whether the stone will be damaged when it is moved. Paul's name has been on it for many years but will it still be safe?'