IN the slaughter of the 1914/18 war, my uncle lay in a shell hole for three days with a shattered leg.

Rescued by the Germans, his leg was amputated and he returned home a broken man.

In the 1939/45 war, some of my contemporaries in Bomber Command and in the D-Day invasion fought the most evil regime the world had ever seen. They did not return home .

Throughout our country can be seen war memorials which stand as a constant reminder to all of us of the supreme sacrifice these men paid so that we can have the privilege of the freedom we enjoy. So how does Mr Fitton of Dunscar Fold propose to "enjoy" his freedom?

By perpetrating the worst possible insult to these men by moving the 83-years-old Dunscar War Memorial because it is in the way of his proposed development, and because he alleges "it has become a gathering point for drug users, glue snifters, fly tippers and dog walkers". Well he would say that, wouldn't he?

As an Egertonian of the last 29 years and a daily user of the roads adjacent to the memorial, I can state quite categorically that THERE ARE NO DRUG USERS, NO GLUE SNIFFERS, NO FLY TIPPER AND NO DOG WALKERS.

The memorial stands as an oasis of quiet and respectful dignity and is extremely well maintained by the parks department whose work creates an ocean of colour during the summer.

If Mr Fitton would like to find the anti-social behaviour he complains of, he only has to take a short ride down to Bromley Cross in the area of the Co-op, where he will find the baseball cap wearing yobs accompanied by their bare midriff female companions indulging in their "we are not doing anything wrong" activities of which the good people of Bromley Cross have been in despair for years.

This development must be stopped, and I urge all concerned residents of the area to attend the meeting at Walmsley Parish Hall on Thursday, July 22, to give the maximum support to our local representatives in the fight to kill off this outrageous proposal.

An Egertonian

(Name and address supplied)