A century after it was put up, Andover’s war memorial is to be upgraded after the council submitted plans for lighting the monument.

As part of the plans, the grade two listed site will be lit with LED bulbs, which will run on a timer.

This will ensure the cenotaph and adjacent plaques are visible both day and night, with the plans careful to take account for “the sensitivity of the site.”

Alan, a local resident who often sits in St Mary’s Churchyard, was supportive of the scheme. “It’s quite a good idea,” he said. “It highlights the people who lost their lives, and makes its appearance a bit less dull.”

This will be the latest in a series of upgrades the war memorial has received during its lifetime.

Originally conceived as a memorial tablet inside the Guidhall, the plans soon expanded into the cenotaph we see today, which was paid for by funds raised from local people.

It was originally placed in the High Street, outside the Guildhall, where it was unveiled in 1920. It has the names of 214 soldiers who gave their lives listed on its sides.

Unlike other memorials of the First World War, its dates are listed as 1914-1920, two years after the war ended, to account for those who lost their lives due to causes which could be attributed to the conflict.

It was later moved outside St Mary’s Churchyard in 1956, where plaques with the names of those who died in the Second World War were later added.

The plans will now be considered by a local planning officer, who will decide whether they will go ahead.