Why were no memorials on war graves touched?
Some of the memorials that were removed had been in place for a matter of weeks. Stonemasons in Rye are saying this is an unfair indictment of their work and relatives strongly deny that the memorials were wobbly. Also, many people who contacted us accused Council Officers of dealing with them in an insensitive and high handed way. The letter sent to relatives, of which we have a copy, was thought by many to be insensitive and, in paragraph 7 threatening. The letter sent to one relative had the wrong name of the deceased who was no relation to her. Response by Councillor Gubby I am very sorry indeed if there has been any pain or distress caused by the necessary work carried out by Rother District Council. We have a legal duty of care and a responsibility to ensure headstones are safe and do not pose a hazard either to workers within the cemetery or to visitors. Once a headstone is found to be unsafe or dangerous the appropriate action is to immediately lay it down. It is not possible t
