Bez Valley war memorial to move to Bez Valley Park

The concerns of residents about the Bez Valley World War I Memorial may soon come to an end as the memorial will soon have a new home.

It has been a long journey for the war memorial which was destroyed by years of vandalism.

Different groups and residents have been fighting for the memorial to move to a secure site in the community.

In June, the City of Joburg announced the relocation of the memorial to Bez Valley Park.

Kensington resident Richard Brooksbank, who has been vocal about the deterioration of the memorial, shared his joy of the memorial’s move to Bez Valley park.

“I’m happy about the memorial being moved. It is very important to me that we preserve our heritage and are reminded of people and events of the past that affected our communities so that we do not allow them to happen again. This is why the Bez Valley war memorial is important,” said Brooksbank.

He said he is satisfied with its new location because it will still be accessible to the public.

“The memorial will be accessible to all in its new location, but there is no guarantee that it will not be damaged again. However, I do think it is less likely to happen in the park.”

He said it is also important that people are able to visit and view the memorial, otherwise it serves no purpose.

He said Johannesburg Heritage worked hard in making sure this memorial is preserved because its important to remember the 63 Bez Vally residents who were killed from 1914 to 1918.

“Saving the memorial is not about the structure. The structure of the memorial is not all that important, but the names on it are.

“The memorial as it stands is actually quite new. It was rebuilt in the 1980s, and so we are not really worried about preserving the structure of the memorial which does not have a lot of historical or heritage value, but we want to preserve the names,” said Brooksbank.

Another resident who has been very concerned about the memorial is Ward 66 committee member for infrastructure and services Joseph Dube.

He said he is pleased about the move of the memorial.

“As a member of the ward committee, I welcome and support the move of the war memorial to Bez Valley Park. The Bez Valley community should see this as a victory for the history of our area.

He also said that the community should embrace the site when the site is complete.

“When the new site is complete, I want to invite the community to join us to beautify the space by planting flowers. I would like to call on the community to identify other heritage sites that we should protect and raise awareness about,” said Dube.