A BBC cameraman filming the statue in May 2009
Chorley Pals Memorial Co-Founder, Steve Williams is to do a video diary for Granada Television in the run up to the memorial being unveiled at the end of February.
The move follows the sudden and unexpected decision by BBC Television’s ‘Inside Out’ programme in the North West not to cover the project. BBC staff had planned to join Pals Trustees as they travelled to France this week to view the memorial panels being engraved, and to the foundry in Essex in early February when the statue is cast.
Work had already started by the BBC back in May 2009, filming the statue being created by Sculptor Peter Hodgkinson at his studio in Preston. Whilst Officials at the BBC in Manchester recognised that the memorial project was unique, they cited “budget restraints” and “lack of time in their production schedules” as their reasons to pull out at this late stage.
However, Granada TV News in Manchester have been quick to step in and have loaned Trustees a video camera. Shots of the memorial being engraved in France over the next few days should be aired during ‘Granada Reports’ bulletins early next week.
