COTSWOLD District Council has already had a healthy response from communities who have applied for funding to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.

Earlier this year, the Cabinet agreed to provide each councillor with a one-off allocation of £500 to fund commemorations in their wards.

Latest figures show that grants worth a combined total of about £10,000 have either already been made or are in the pipeline.

So far, members have supported activities which include free commemorative books and mugs for schoolchildren, cleaning and repair of war memorials, printing and mounting of photographs and other display information for exhibitions and memorial benches and plaques.

Councillor Lynden Stowe, Leader of the Council, said: “It’s good to see so many communities across the District coming forward and asking their Ward Members for financial help to support plans for commemorations – sometimes the sums required have been relatively small, while on other occasions Members have given their whole £500 allocation to one project.

“WW1 actually began on 28 July and interest is increasing across the country as that centenary date approaches.

“It may still not be too late for some communities to obtain financial support if they are planning a commemoration.

"Some councillors have spent their allocation but others still have money available. I would recommend that people check with their Ward Councillor to see if there is any funding on offer.”