THE town's cenotaph could be damaged if it is moved to a new location within Civic Square.
That is the fear of the group campaigning against the move, which has sparked a storm of protest from veterans' organisations and members of the public.
Yvonne Innes, secretary of the Royal British Legion's Ellesmere Port branch, which has been spearheading the campaign, said: 'I have spoken to the people responsible for building and inscribing the names of the war dead on the cenotaph and both tell me they cannot guarantee damage would not be done to the structure if there is any attempt to move it.
'The man who installed the memorial in the 1970s told me its internal bracing is such that disturbing it could crack the base.
'And the man who put the names on the memorial tells me they are etched into pieces of slate which are bonded on to stone and it would be difficult to safely remove these.
'After hearing this from the men who built it, I wouldn't like to be the person responsible for giving the authority to move the cenotaph.
'If it was damaged in any way, there would be absolute uproar in the town.'
Yvonne said she had also just heard of plans to move some or all of the benches around the edge of Civic Square, dedicated by families in the names of loved ones.
A borough council spokesman explained this week: 'The memorial will be moved carefully and there is no technical reason why this should present any difficulties.
'An inspection has been undertaken by a specialist monumental mason, who will be doing the refurbishment and enhancement of the war memorial at his premises.'
On the question of the dedicated benches, he said: 'Confidential discussions have been held and the benches, which are not in any way related to the war memorial, are to be resited with the agreement of the parties concerned.'
The spokesman added: 'The intention is to hold a special meeting of council to review the detailed plans for the relocation of the War Memorial in the forthcoming improvements to Civic Square.
'It is likely that the council meeting will be preceded by an information and briefing session for councillors. Dates for these events will be confirmed shortly.'
