Marines' memorial on IRA bomb site refurbished

The annual concert will be held on the memorial bandstand on Walmer Green

A memorial garden on the site of an IRA bomb blast in Deal, Kent, has been refurbished ahead of a visit from the Band of His Majesty`s Royal Marines.

The garden in Canada Road, Walmer, is dedicated to the eleven musicians killed in the attack in September 1989.

On 23 June the band will play its annual concert at the memorial bandstand on Walmer Green.

Dover District Council has cared for the garden since the barracks closed in 1996 and the site became housing.

Emma Allen, head of parks and open spaces, has been in charge of the renovation, which included dealing with an infestation of box hedge moths.

She told BBC Radio Kent: "There were 11 trees, which represents the 11 bandsmen and we've replaced four.

"The last bit of work that we have to do is to finish the paving around three."

The memorial garden dedicated to the marines killed in the bombing has been refurbished

Derek Lindars, Chairman of the Memorial Bandstand Trust and former marine, has vivid memories of the day.

He said: "I was cycling to work when the bomb exploded. I and so many others did what we could to rescue and recover people from the rubble."

He also recalled the following week, when the band marched through the town, leaving 11 empty spaces.

"The people of Deal wrapped their arms around us. The streets were lined with people, that sense of love still remains today."

Derek Lindars was a Royal Marine at the time of the bombing in 1989

Mr Lindars said the annual concert is a chance for the Royal Marines to repay that love.

"The purpose is to give something back to the people of Deal, but also to rededicate the bandstand which the people built and funded as a living memorial to those that we lost."