Local residents and visitors to the town were appalled to see the vandalism to the Silent Soldier situated by the Band Stand on Wye Street at the weekend.

Members of the Ross-on-Wye and District Branch of the Royal British Legion, who organised the silhouettes, thanks to sponsorship by many local companies, were devastated at the disrespectful way this one had been treated.

The damage follows a very busy few weeks for members as they launch the season of Remembrance for the Ross-on-Wye area with a concert, lunch and visits to schools.

They discovered the damage after a visitor from Marlow, Geoff Wood contacted the Ross Gazette. He said that he wanted to say how pleased he was to see the WW1 Silent Soldier silhouette sponsored by the Ross Gazette, proudly displayed in the lovely Thomas Blake Memorial Garden, when he was visiting the town, with his wife, on Sunday, October 14th.

He added:?“We noticed another metal silhouette attached to a wooden structure at the bottom of Wye Street which appears to have been vandalised, in that it has no head.”

The Gazette immediately contacted a member of the Ross and District Branch of the Royal British Legion who went to inspect the damage.

The Chairman, Graham Aplin told the Gazette that it was clear that the damage had been caused deliberately and needed considerable force to do what was done.

He said:?“It looks as if someone has bent the head backwards and forwards until it has snapped off.

?“I know that some people might blame the wind but I have picked up the pieces and I am adamant that the wind could not have done this.”

The Silent Soldier has been removed.

Graham would love to hear from anyone who knows who was responsible for this destruction and he has also informed the police.

The Silent Soldiers, which have appeared at several locations across Ross, are part of a nationwide network of memorials to mark the final year of World War I.

At their base are the words "Lest we Forget" alongside the name of a business or individual who wishes to support the valuable work of the Royal British Legion.

In this case the Soldier had been sponsored by Ross Town Council.

Mr Aplin told the Ross Gazette that it would be very unlikely that a replacement silhouette would be available before Remembrance Day. The Ross Gazette tried to contact the Town Council for a comment about the incident but they had not replied as we went to press.See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.