Bramley's new war memorial unveiled

The memorial in Bramley Park names fallen servicemen from Bramley, Stanningley and Rodley

A new war memorial to 500 fallen soldiers has been unveiled 100 years on from the start of World War One.

The structure in Bramley Park names fallen servicemen from Bramley, Stanningley and Rodley, in Leeds.

The £100,000 obelisk was paid for through a two-year local fundraising campaign, sponsors and council grants.

Frances Barker, fundraiser for the memorial, said: "It is a very proud day, we are bringing 500 soldiers home with this memorial."

Local fundraising gathered more than £100,000 for the obelisk

About 300 of the names commemorated on the memorial died in World War One and most of the other soldiers in World War Two.

Rifleman Sheldon Steel, 20, of Bramley, who died in Afghanistan in November 2011 is the most recent fallen serviceman to be honoured on the memorial.

He was killed while on foot patrol with 5th Battalion The Rifles in the Babaji area of Helmand.

Wendy Fulthorpe, Rifleman Steel's mother, was the "inspiration for the memorial" , Mrs Barker said.

The obelisk, which was designed with the help of Leeds' former civic architect John Thorp, is 14ft (4.25m) high and weighs about 12 tonnes.

Research is under way to find any soldiers from the area who died after 1946 to be added to the names on the memorial.

Leeds City Council lists almost 50 war memorials across the city.