AN East Cornwall community is rallying together to spruce up its war memorial for the centenary year of the start of WW1 and is inviting volunteers to get involved and learn about the people behind the names. The Tamar Valley AONB's Helping Hands for Heritage project is looking for volunteers to help clean and tidy the war memorial in Albaston Cemetery on Saturday (September 6). Helping Hands for Heritage is a project to expand the potential of volunteering in the Tamar Valley and to work towards helping to protect and care for its natural and cultural heritage. Helping Hands for Heritage project officer Sam Barnes said: 'The volunteers will have the opportunity to gently clean the granite memorial with soft brushes and water and for those who want something a bit more physical, we will be weeding around the base, removing the granite chippings that are currently around the base, laying weed suppressant matting and putting down new chippings. 'Really it's to connect people to their local history and hopefully draw people in to volunteer for other local history projects we are running as part of the Helping Hands project.' Calstock Parish Archive will also be holding an exhibition about WW1 in the cemetery chapel, where information about some of the people named on the memorial can be found. 'Calstock Parish Archive has an exhibition over the weekend,' added Sam, 'and there will be a volunteer there on Saturday who has done lots of research into the names on the memorial, so local people can find out about their ancestors or the people who gave their lives in the war in general. There are some really interesting stories. 'The memorial is an important part of our local community history, as well as a reminder of the huge loss of life that impacted throughout Great Britain during the First and Second World Wars.' Calstock Parish Council has also been involved in the event. Chair of the council John Roberts said: 'The original idea came because we felt it needed a bit of a clean and the Helping Hands project team said they would take responsibility for cleaning it.' He said there were several councillors that would be taking part in the cleaning on Saturday and, with his appointment as chair of the parish council for this year, is looking forward to laying a wreath on the memorial on Remembrance Sunday. 'I counted all the names on the memorial and there are 116,' he said. 'Luckily we haven't lost anyone since Korea and long may it stay that way. I suggested we get wooden crosses for each name to lay on the day. 'To encourage a bit of community engagement, espe-cially from the youngsters, we have written to the local primary schools to ask if they want to get involved. If they do, we could give each child one of the names to research and then they can lay the crosses on the day.' The memorial clean on Saturday will take place from 11am to 4pm. Most tasks will be suitable for all ages and abilities. To register your interest in attending the event, or for more information on the event or Helping Hands for Heritage, contact Sam Barnes at the Tamar Valley AONB office on 01822 835050 or email [email protected]">[email protected]