Thame Youth Memorial dedication this Sunday (03/01/10) Status: Press release

THAME’S Youth Memorial Garden will be formally dedicated this Sunday lunchtime, 3 January (12.30 ? 2pm) at the Memorial Gardens in Thame Upper High Street.

Intended as a place of reflection and remembrance for the lost youth of Thame and district, the garden has been refurbished by Thame Town Council and is now open to the public.

Sunday?s dedication event will be opened by Nichola Dixon, Deputy Mayor of Thame, and John Howell MP and other local dignitaries will be attending. The formal dedication will be made by David Wybron, Head Teacher at Lord Williams?s School, who personally knew some of the youngsters who have died in recent years.

Helium balloons will be on sale, which can be tagged with personal messages and released during the reading of a poignant poem following a brief period of silence and reflection, and the sale of charity wrist bands will accompany a street collection and the launch of a fund raising raffle.

Before the dedication there will be cameo street entertainment by local youngsters, intended to entertain but also to demonstrate the diversity of modern youth and their decency, compassion, community spirit, and respect for the friends they have lost.

Mike Dyer, Chair of the Youth Memorial Trust, said: “We hope that the people of Thame and the surrounding villages will turn out in large numbers, whatever the weather, to show their support for this unique project to ensure that those who died too young are never forgotten.”

A design competition has also recently been launched to invite proposals for a memorial to be installed on the site, and the design brief is available for download at www.thameyouthmemorial.org.