THE FALLEN of the First World War will certainly be remembered in Ledbury this year, one century on from the Armistice which ended the conflict.

The town council's Armistice Commemoration Working Party is in the process of discussing and putting together a number of imaginative ideas: from restoring and re-dedicating the War Memorial in the High Street to putting plaques on the homes of local men who marched away to fight in the conflict, never to return.

This would also involve the creation of a Ledbury 1914/1918 town map, to provide a guide as to where the fallen soldiers lived.

But present day householders would need to give their permission for the plaques, and they would be contacted by the town council. A total of 85 local properties would be involved.

There will be several occasions in Ledbury in 2018 when the Armistice centenary anniversary can be commemorated.

One will be Armed Forces Day, on June 30. In 2016, Ledbury was the focus for a county-wide commemoration.

But a town council spokesman said: "This year, it will be a low key event, as opposed to two years ago, when the town centre was closed."

But the event could still involve poetry readings "and the rededication of the war memorial, if restoration has been completed."

Plans to dismantle and renovate Ledbury's "sinking" war memorial were shelved last year, following advice that this cannot happen because the monument is grade II listed.

Instead all work to the memorial, which is in Ledbury High Street, must take place "in situ" and will be subject to planning permission from Herefordshire Council.

The town council has already voted to spend £5500 on ground works "to address the issues of water pooling around the base of the memorial".

Water has caused corrosion at the base of the monument and helps to give the impression that the memorial is indeed sinking into the pavement.

Another ambitious idea to mark the Armistice is to produce 5000 booklets, with funding from Ledbury Town Council and the Royal British Legion, about the conflict and its consequences, and to distribute them to schools, heritage sites and local shops.

There will be a First World War exhibition in Ledbury Parish Church, on a date to be announced, but probably in mid-autumn.

Ledbury's recreation ground, which is a war memorial Centenary Field, could be rededicated, with students from Ledbury Primary and the John Masefield High School in attendance.

This could take place as early as the end of this month.

There will be major commemoration, as always on Remembrance Sunday, and this falls this year on November 11, exactly one hundred years on from the signing of the Armistice.

The Armistice came into effect on November 11, 1918.