A new war memorial dedicated to people from Wycombe who lost their lives in past conflicts was unveiled in a poignant ceremony this week.

The hand-crafted monument now sits in the Priory Road entrance to High Wycombe Cemetery, with a crowd of about 40 people joining together for the special service on Tuesday.

The cemetery is believed to have at least 108 war graves on the grounds and this new memorial will hopefully serve as a fitting tribute and lasting memory of their lives, one of the councillors behind the plans said.

Commissioned by Wycombe District Council the new landmark was officially unveiled by High Wycombe town committee chairman, Cllr Tony Green, in front of members of the Royal British Legion and other dignitaries.

He said: “I think not many of us realise, and I certainly didn’t a few years ago, that the cemetery actually contains war graves.

“And, they’re scattered all over the cemetery in various places, obviously from the two wars.

“It just seemed nice to have a single memorial that represented all the people who were in the cemetery because of wounds or death sustained in war.

“It was about 18 months ago now that we talked about it. My two colleagues and I put our ward budgets towards it – and the council found some money – and this was the result, and I think it is really good.

“The simplicity of the memorial, it was deliberately done in the same style as the war grave headstones and I think it looks better than I imagined, and I think in the entrance it stands out and looks very impressive.

“It also means for individuals who have relatives here, there is somewhere to leave their own tributes.”

Plans have not yet been agreed on what part the new memorial will play in official events like Remembrance Sunday.

Cllr Green said: “I think that is something we’ve got to look at. One of the ideas we have to look at is maybe putting a wreath down on Armistice Day, whereas [currently] the war memorial is done on the nearest Sunday.

“It would seem appropriate to do it on the day itself, but that has all got to be decided.”

The monument was designed and created by Lane End resident Martin Cook.

He said: “It was a very tricky project. It was about a month’s work, all in all, a month’s actual carving. It started as a thicker piece of stone and it has then been reduced.”

The monument includes the inscription “In memory of those who died as a result of war... Lest we forget”.

At the top of the monument is a globe depicting all the countries in the world which have been affected by war.