The soft stone suffered from weathering and vandalism – and it proved difficult to source a replacement
The memorial to Graham Palmer, founder of national canal restoration volunteer body the Waterway Recovery Group, has been given a new durable metal plaque fixed over the damaged original stone carving.
Graham Palmer led WRG from its launch in 1970 until he retired for health reasons in 1982. After he died in 1988, he was commemorated by the Montgomery Canal’s new Graham Palmer Lock (added during the restoration to counter changes in ground levels since the canal shut), with the adjacent memorial stone erected on completion of the lock in 1995. However the soft stone suffered from weathering and vandalism – and it proved difficult to source a replacement.
Current WRG Chairman Mike Palmer MBE, who was one of the team carrying out the installation of the new zinc-etched plaque, said “After too long, we have finally repaired this memorial to the life and work of Graham Palmer. It is thanks to Graham’s vision that the Waterway Recovery Group was born almost 50 years ago and we now want to thank WRG supporters for their kind donations to fund this new plaque. We hope you like it.”
