DAWLISH War Memorial Trust will soon be up and running with the aim of giving the cenotaph at St Gregory's Church a makeover.
Rather than have a specific chosen charity this year, the mayor of Dawlish, Cllr Tom Bush, decided to form the trust with the aim of restoring, upgrading and maintaining the monument.
Cllr Bush said: 'It looks very neglected and needs a thoroughly good clean, the names on the plaques are almost unreadable in places. 'It also hasn't been updated since the second world war and means nothing to the generations after that. 'I want it to be a continuous memorial for the people who fall in service of the country.'
At an informal meeting it was decided that names would be updated so as to reflect more recent conflicts and be a fitting place of remembrance for younger generations.
On the north-facing side of the memorial is a small plaque with names on but no indication as to which conflict it refers to. It was felt that this should be more clearly identified.
There is also the need to produce a list of names to be added to the memorial. Cllr Bush said there should be a policy drawn up by the service personnel organisations and they should also be responsible for the list of names to be added.
The inaugural meeting to set up the Dawlish War Memorial Trust will be a public meeting on Monday, September 12 at 7.30pm in the Manor House, Dawlish.
Should the members of the board of trustees find it necessary to wind up the trust, for whatever reason, any funds left in the accounts will be distributed equally between the ex-service personnel associations in the town.