VCH war memorial will stay, health chiefs vow

HEALTH chiefs have pledged that a war memorial on the site of closure-hit hospital wards in Wallasey will be saved.

Last month the government announced it would back a decision by the borough's two Primary Care Trusts to shut wards six and seven at Victoria Central Hospital, which care for elderly patients.

There had been fears a plaque sited between the wards, commemorating Wallasey men who died in the First World War, would be another casualty of the closure.

But Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT says it has "no intention" of removing the memorial.

It says the plaque, along with a foundation stone from an administration block, will eventually be moved to a primary care centre proposed for the VCH site and that the public will be able to view both.

A PCT spokesman said: "There are a number of plaques on the VCH site, one being a foundation stone and one being a war memorial.

"These historical items will be preserved for public viewing within the new building."

The plaque lists the names of "the men of Wallasey" who lost their lives in the Great War from 1914-19 while the foundation stone marks the opening of the hospital in 1886 by Queen Victoria.

Liscard councillor Dave Hawkins said: "The war memorial is an important piece of Wallasey's history and it is right that we should protect our heritage.

"It is important that a suitable, public location is found for it. What a pity that the present location at wards six and seven can't remain to be it."

The TGWU's David Laird, who spearheaded the campaign to save wards six and seven, told the News he is sceptical about plans to retain the memorial on-site.

He said: "The PCTs have made us promises in the past which were later broken. The new building is a couple of years away - what's to stop them changing their minds in that time?

"This plaque is an important part of the history of the people of Wallasey who fought in the Great War and I will certainly be monitoring the situation.

"It's sad when you consider we've had a hospital here since 1886 and it's come to the point where we're talking about moving something so important to a building which won't even be called a hospital."