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Cabinet hears task‑group proposal to commemorate 'Canary Girls' rather than commission costly statue
Summary
A task group report recommended commemorating the wartime 'Canary Girls' (thousands employed at the NFF5 works) with information boards and a walking route; councillors supported working with Quedgeley Town Council and the leader was asked to write a letter of support.
Members heard from a task group report on commemorating the so‑called Canary Girls — the workers (mainly women) employed at the NFF5 munitions works. A councillor presenting the report said the group considered options including a statue but favoured a lower‑cost combination of blue plaques, information boards and a walk that maps relevant sites, noting an estimated 6,364 workers had been employed at the factory.
The presenter said a statue would cost around £100,000 and that a programme of information boards and a walking route would better inform the public about the contribution and the health risks faced by the workforce. The report asked officers to write to Quedgeley (the transcript uses "Quechua" but the intention is the local town council named in the report) to agree a suitable site and for the leader to send a letter of support to the Canary Girls Memorial Project.
Members welcomed the recommendations and the chair described the report as "excellent"; the cabinet agreed to support the approach and recommended further work with Quedgeley Town Council and local partners.
Article provenance: task-group presentation and cabinet responses during item on commemorations.
