As flagpole jokes go it was quite a night when Marlborough town councillors debated what to do with its own 12-metre long flagpole lying unused in store.
And they were taking the fate of the flagpole that doesn’t fit the socket created for it on the side of the Town Hall quite seriously, the more so as it was revealed it was surprisingly bought in the past without any councillors sanctioning its purchase.
With the August 4 date approaching to mark the centenary of World War I, they were discussing too what kind of events the town should hold to mark the solemn occasion at its two war memorial sites.
They too were part of the equation as both the main memorial to the dead at the Barn Street roundabout and the nearby memorial column on New Road have both been given a super heated water facelift last month in tribute to those who lose their lives in battle.
That’s because wreath laying ceremonies in remembrance of the tragic war are proposed for August 4, members of Marlborough’s Royal British Legion taking part and possibly with 4MI, the military intelligence brigade, based at Bulford, for whom Marlborough is their adopted home.
Then came the issue of what to do with the errant flagpole, Town Clerk Shelley Parker reporting to councillors on Monday: “The exact site for the flagpole has not yet been considered.
“If installed on the highway, it is understood that it would need the relevant highway licence rather than planning permission.”
She added, it was not yet clear what the cost of such a move would be given the town council’s tight, austerity hit finances, the flagpole having to be given its own secure base, most likely in London Road at the memorial to the 7th Wiltshire Regiment.
What followed was a highly heated debate in which a dozen or more different views were expressed by as many councillors until that sublime Clochmerle moment when former mayor Councillor Alexander Kirk Wilson rose to his feet.
He admired the idea of making appropriate use of the errant flagpole but worried about its security, declaring: “It will present a huge temptation for some young lads after a few beers to run panties and bras up it!”
In a fit of giggles deputy Mayor Councillor Marian Hannaford-Dobson offered to climb the flagpole but didn’t indicate whether it would be in her undergarments as she became “the first one up there”.
Not quite the collapse of stout party since Councillor Peggy Dow then declared they didn’t need the flag pole at all because for most people the British Legion standard bearers lowering and raising their banners on Remembrance Day was always the most poignant event, the flagpole detracting from any scene.
Councillor Andrew Ross warned that there was “quite a big engineering job” to stabilise the flag pole and should be discussed first by the council’s finance committee, which he chairs, because the grass at the London Road memorial would have to be changed to gravel.
Councillor Richard Allen interjected that it was obviously a difficult to visualise exactly what the blessed flagpole would be best placed. “It is a complication,” he admitted.
“We know the existing flagpole is a white elephant at best. It feels like we’re trying to find a use for something we shouldn’t have bought in the first place.
“There are potentially a number of things that might be possible to enhance not only that memorial but also the other one.
“I respectfully suggest we call on the expertise of the History Society and others if that is to be the case. What I would suggest is that we don’t take the folly of a previous council that never procured it by vote anyway and just find a use for it.”
Up to that point Councillor Alec Light, himself a leading member of Marlborough’s British Legion, had revealed that the Legion itself would help with the cost of moving the flagpole, though he was worried about how many flags the huge pole might display.
“The pole we’ve got is possibly too big but it could be cut down,” he seriously suggested.
Councillor Mervyn Hall, a member of the Marlborough History Society, which is also taking part in the centenary events, urged the council to seek a proper design for the project before making any decision. “I would also like to know how much that is going to cost and who is going to pay for it,” he insisted.
Somewhat frustrated, the Mayor, Councillor Guy Loosmore, tried to bring the debate to order.
“I would like to move this on,” he declared. “We are moving rapidly to a situation where we need to take this proposal back, we need to get a design alternative and bring it back to the council with a fully costed proposal before making a final decision.”
And as other councillors entered the fray, the Mayor, banging his gavel, shouted: “One at a time, please!”
But even then Councillor Stewart Dobson believed there was a need to set up a working party of experienced councillors and others, among them the armed forces, to consider the whole process, while Councillor Allen intimated that the responsibility of what to do with the wretched flagpole belonged to councillors themselves.
Finally, Councillor Andrew Ross, prompted by the Mayor, proposed that the whole project of what should happen at the two war memorial sites on August 4, including the use of the flagpole, be given to one of the council’s standing committees to resolve.
So it was back to square one – second instalment of the flagpole saga to follow…
Hockey: Marlborough Ladies 1st XI receive their team of the year award – photo
