As war memorial renovation winds down, attempts to keep graffiti bandits at bay ramp up

As the finishing touches are being made in the renovation of the Newfoundland National War Memorial in downtown St. John's ahead of ahistoric event on July 1,officials are stepping up security to prevent the site from being defaced with graffiti.

Construction crews and other specialists are scrambling this week to conclude an ambitious refurbishment of the 100-year-old war memorial, which was unveiled July 1, 1924, eight years to the day after the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was decimated on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme at Beaumont Hamel in northern France.

The government minister in charge of the project says work on the war memorial propertyis on schedule and on budget.

"We have a plan that brings us fullcompletion and everything will be in place by [June 30]for the full event, which will be a significant national and probably international event watched by many, many people both on site and through the media on July 1,"John Abbott, minister of transportation and infrastructure, said Tuesday.

But graffiti has been appearing around the perimeter of the fenced-off site, prompting government officials to hire private security to protect the property.

"There are graffiti artistsif I can use that word that have been around on the site, even while we're doing work," said Abbott. "We'll certainly want to ask them torelent, particularly around this particular site, on a go-forward basis."

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Abbott said there's overwhelming public support for the $6.5-million refurbishment andthe 100th anniversary event planned for July 1, which will include the interment of an unknown Royal Newfoundland Regiment soldier into a new granite burial chamber at the base of the monument.

The soldier, repatriated last month from northern France,will represent all those who lost their lives in various wars, especially those with no known grave.

But Abbott said officials are worried someone will taint the event by vandalizing the memorial.

So he's issuing a plea for everyone to respect the property and appreciate its significance to Newfoundland and Labrador's history, which includes the loss of more than 1,600 soldiers, sailors, forestry workers and others during the First World War.

"There has been some graffiti in and around the site," he said."We are cautioning and encouraging that not to continue, obviously, and that's something we'll be mindful of and we will have security around this site."

The threat of graffiti is an unwelcome distraction and concern as a significant period of remembrance approachesand the city and province prepareto welcome thousands of people to Memorial Day ceremonies on the morning of July 1.

To help accommodate the large crowd, Abbott said, a temporary viewing stand capable of seating several hundred people will be erected on a property adjacent to the war memorial. Several large television screens will be installed so people can watch the live national broadcast, and some trees have also been removed from the property to improve sight lines, he added.

Some international dignitaries from Commonwealth and other countries are expected to attend the event, including Princess Anneof the British royal family. Anne is the colonel in chief of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Abbott said he's pleased with the quality of work that's ongoing at the war memorial, describingthe addition of a new granite tombas a "significant accomplishment."

"[It] took a lot of work, a lot of planning, a lot of effort, some ups and downs, but we're here."

After July 1, Newfoundland and Labrador will be home to just the second Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Canada, with the other located atthe National War Memorial in Ottawa.

For years, members of the provincial command of the Royal Canadian Legion pushed hard for a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, arguing Newfoundland was aself-governing dominion when it sent thousands of its citizens to fight in a global conflict.

A lying-in-state of the Unknown Soldier will take place at Confederation Building from June 28-30, when members of the public can pay their respects.

Abbott said he's both anxious and excited about the upcoming ceremonies.

"We have to make sure this is done in a perfect manner," he said."We need to make sure all our facilities are up to scratch and in place. And that work now will be pretty well coming to an end in the next week or so."

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