Memorial hall's sign is under fire (From Barry And District News)

Memorial hall's sign is under fire

A BARRY pensioner who saw active service in World War Two has branded the new signage outside the Memorial Hall "insulting".

Elsie Barnfield of Brock Street says she is in total agreement with the many locals who have protested against the decision to 'dumb down' the hall by simply calling it the Memo. She is horrified at the new signs despite venue manager Kate Long's insistence that the name has not been changed.

Ms Long, who is striving to put the building on the national map, has explained that she has not changed the name of the hall but merely incorporated a well-known logo. She has also kept the full title on all marketing and branding material.

But Mrs Barnfield, who was a WREN deployed to Egypt in the 1940s, feels that this could be confusing.

The 82 year-old, who was a regular between 1940 and 1954 and a reserve from 1956 to 1969 on the HMS Cambria, claims it is disrespectful.

She told the News: "My father and his eight brothers all served in World War One. There were lives lost in battles for this country and the memorial hall was built to commemorate their sacrifices.

"We raised funds and saved long and hard to build that wonderful hall, and it has been used for civic events since it was opened.

"I think to call it a Memo is insulting. A memo is an office reminder, a jotting on a piece of paper. It's a slur on the memories of all those who fought for Britain and for Barry."

But Ms Long stresses that she regards the hall with the greatest sense of pride and respect. She also told councillors in a meeting on Monday: "I have been distributing advertising material with the logo on since January 24 with no complaints.

And added: "There have been over 200,000 leaflets and posters given out with this logo on it. I have had letters of thanks from organisations who have used the venue. I even have copies of an events listing called What's on at the Memo printed in 1996.

"But I want to stress that we have only used The Memo as a logo and we have not changed the name of the building."