A 1.5 METRE-tall obelisk war memorial is to be sited on a village grass verge to commemorate 49 local war dead.

The plans are the result of a history project in Goytre Fawr to research how those who lost their lives had been commemorated.

The obelisk will be built on a patch of grass near the public telephone and the Goytre Arms pub in Penperlleni, at the junction of School Lane and Fairfield where the village Remembrance Service is held.

Local veteran Timothy Dowle started his research into how the area had commemorated its war dead in 2018, as there was no dedicated central monument despite local churches and chapels having some memorials.

He then worked with the chair of the local British Legion to produce a book and exhibition.

The application, approved by Monmouthshire Council planners, was put in by Mike Jones, of Penperelleni, following a fundraising campaign.

A planning statement said: “As a community memorial, it is thought that a location within the most visited part of the village would be the most appropriate, and this site is surrounded by the local community facilities including the park, village shop, chip shop, village pub, and almost mid-way between the two village halls.

“A site within the park was considered, but concerns existed that it would lack the passive surveillance the current site offers, and hence may put the memorial at greater risk of malicious damage.”

The selected site would be “a location that those commemorated on would probably have congregated and talked”.

The obelisk, which will be constructed from South African gray sandstone, will contain the names of 34 local men killed during the First World War, a further 13 lost during World War II and two from post-1945.

At The Going Down Of The Sun And In The Morning We Will Remember Them and its translation in Welsh will also be inscribed on the front face.