Bronze and statue restoration company, Antique Bronze, have commented on news that the War Memorials Trust are providing grants for memorial restorations in light of the 100^th anniversary of World War I.

100,000 is the estimated amount of war memorials in the UK, according to The War Memorials Trust, and many are in need of repair. The grants this year for restorations has so far reached £140,027, a 31% increase from 2013, which had a record £106,017 of allocated grants. The 100^th anniversary has sparked a desire for restorations of the war memorial sites.

Amy Davidson, the War Memorials Trust’s conservation office said ‘Obviously the Centenary has spurred an interest. It’s something that does happen every year when people attend the memorial and think ‘actually some work is needed’. Then they get in touch with us... But the number of grants we’ve made has massively increased.’

While many memorials are still well kept, a maintenance plan is rarely in place and sometimes the damage is tremendous. Councils can fix a memorial, but they aren’t obliged to do so, so it’s up to trusts and restoration companies to bring a memorial back to how it once looked. The anniversary has been declared a priority of the coalition, and last year they release £5 million specifically for their restoration.

Antique Bronze respond frequently to industry news in the bronze and restoration sector, and a spokesperson for the company has said: ‘It’s been a busy year for memorial conservations and restorations, and the centenary has definitely played a part in this. Many war memorials are terribly out of shape and it prides us to bring them back to how they were, so we can pay respects to the fallen without feeling ashamed of the state of the sites.’

The spokesperson also gave an example of one of the processes involved in restoring a ruined memorial. ‘The process can vary from memorial to memorial, but in an extreme state, disfiguring corrosion is removed or thinned using specialist techniques such as wet air-abrasion system. Wax coatings are often required along with buffing, and any replacement parts have to be cast, and we often do these at our studio or foundry. We have an extremely talented team who help with the restorations and these methods are just one of the ways we can bring a memorial back to how it was. It depends entirely on the materials.’

Antique Bronze are one of the leading conservation companies in the UK, restoring and conserving old and new materials. They have over fifty five years of experience, and provide services for bronze restoration, conservation, cleaning, patination, monument restoration, casting, and marble, stone and sculpture cleaning, to name but a few. To find out more about Antique Bronze, visit their website at www.antiquebronze.co.uk.