Admiral de Saumarez memorial plans dropped by Guernsey trust

The St Sampson's Douzaine said it would continue to fundraise for a reinstatement of the memorial

Plans to rebuild a monument to a British naval hero have been shelved by a Guernsey trust.

The Admiral de Saumarez Trust said building a new memorial and opening a cafe in Delancey Park had been abandoned due to a lack of funds.

A scheme to revamp the park has already seen seen new children's play areas, sensory garden and changing rooms.

The parish authority has said it will now take over the fundraising campaign for the monument.

The Rotary Club of Guernsey was behind the work to create a sensory garden in the park

The trust's improvements to the park include new playgrounds and refurbished changing rooms

Trust chairman Alex Rodger said: "We've not been able to raise the funds to build the monument that was designed, it was costing the best part of £750,000.

"It would be a beautiful monument if it was put up... [but] you've got to be realistic, there's a lot of things that people would like to see before a monument going up."

St Sampson's Constable Paul Le Pelley said: "We were very happy for the Admiral de Saumarez Trust to run with the idea because they were fundraising and doing various things to improve the standard of the park.

"As far as the monument is concerned, it's something the douzaine would like to see reinstated and that will is still alive as far as we're concerned."

He said he was hopeful the funds would be raised within the next few years for a replacement for the memorial, but said there were no plans by the parish to pursue opening a cafe.

Admiral Lord James de Saumarez

• James de Saumarez was born in 1757 and educated in Guernsey before joining the Royal Navy.

• During his career he was Nelson's second in command at the Battle of the Nile, commanded the Channel Islands and Baltic squadrons and was known as the Saviour of Sweden.

• He retired to the island and spent 25 years engaged in charity work before dying in 1836.

• A memorial to him was unveiled on 2 August, 1878, on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Nile.

• Near the base were four plaques showing a dedication, a head and shoulders relief, a frieze of an action off the west coast when his ship escaped a French Squadron using a local pilot and a list of his victories at sea.

• All but the base of the 99ft (30m) high granite memorial was demolished in 1943 by the occupying German forces to clear fields of fire for artillery and naval batteries.

• The four plaques were saved and are on display at Castle Cornet.