Dennis Sharrocks standing in front of the memorial at Manor Gardens

A VETERANS’ association is pleading to restore a 100-year-old First World War memorial wall at Manor Gardens.

The wall was built in 1923 and is covered with almost 500 names of those who fought in the Great War. While parts of the wall underwent cleaning and restoration 20 years ago, many of the names remain illegible due to damage.

Islington Veterans’ Association (IVA) has been campaigning for the wall to be repaired for more than five years, but the council has recently estimated that a full restoration would cost close to half a million pounds.

The memorial at Manor Gardens, Holloway, is the oldest is Islington. Every year, the veterans’ association hosts a wreath-laying ceremony there on Remembrance Day.

The archway that houses the memorial wall was originally part of the Royal Northern Hospital.

“Because a lot of the injured soldiers came back to the hospital, it was decided to place a number of their names on the wall,” said Dennis Sharrocks, who has chaired the Islington Veterans’ Association since 2015.

Barbara Siddall’s great-grandfather fought during the First World War and is featured on the wall. She said: “My family didn’t talk about it much because of the trauma. All I know is that he was in it and he’s here. It’s lovely that his name is here. The family find it a precious part of our past.”

She added: “It’s not just my family – look at how many families are here. All of these have a past memory with connections in Islington now. I think that’s something that’s really important. The reason why we’re here is because of all these amazing people who fought to keep us here. We need to make sure we preserve that.”

The IVA say that when the hospital shut its doors and the site was bought by private developer Bellway, the memorial fell into disrepair.

Former Islington mayor and IVA member Stefan Kasprzyk said: “The casualty department of the hospital was built by public subscription to remember their deaths and all that’s gone to dust so that people can make money.”

The IVA say that the council have helped them identify the root cause of the damage and are now collaborating with them to raise funds.

Mr Sharrocks said: “The council have done some work. They did a survey and got reports that showed the root cause of the damage was water egress after Bellway redeveloped the site.”

He added: “They’ve been going to Bellway and asking them to morally help us out. They’ve also been going to the War Graves Commission, the Memorial Trust, and the National Lottery to raise funds.”

A spokesperson for the council said: “A significant amount of council resources have already been committed to identifying the cause of the decay and the best means of restoring and protecting the memorial. We recently funded expert stonemasons to advise on this matter. The cost of restoring the memorial will be approximately £500,000. Unfortunately, this not an amount that we can cover with our own budget and so we are exploring options for external funding.”

Bellway did not respond to a request for comment.