STONEMASONS from Salisbury Cathedral have collaborated with prisoners to create a memorial to mark the centenary of the First World War.

Today the permanent war memorial will be unveiled at HMP Erlestoke, where prisoners designed the monument, that has been carved by Salisbury stonemasons.

It will sit on a lawn within the visitors’ area of the prison.

The four-foot high memorial, a four-sided pyramid-shape, will be dedicated by the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos, at a special ceremony that will include prisoners, prison and cathedral staff, and visitors.

Dean Nicholas is no stranger to the justice system - he worked as a barrister specialising in criminal law before joining the Church. He is particularly proud of the role played by the cathedral’s stonemasons in this project.

The Very Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos, Dean of Salisbury said:

“It is very easy to regard prisoners as ‘out of sight and out of mind’, and to leave the job of rehabilitation to others. But we all must take responsibility for the society in which we live, and strive to make it better.

"I am incredibly proud of what has been achieved by the prisoners and our masons working together.

"We must cherish the hard-won rights and freedoms we enjoy today, inside and outside the prison system, whether working together to create something as meaningful as this memorial, or simply taking time to pause and reflect on the sacrifice of others.”

On each of three sides of the monument the badges of each of the services – Army, Navy and RAF – have been carved, with the simple words ‘land, ‘sea’ and ‘air’ inscribed beneath. A solitary gun with a helmet graces the fourth side beneath the simple quotation:

“Now listen

For a moment

The world is silent

Peace be with you"

Lee Andrews, head mason at Salisbury Cathedral said: “It has been a real privilege for masons to work on this project and collaborate with the prisoners on their design.

"Between us we have worked hard to make something worthy of those who sacrificed everything.

"Personally, this project is important to me. As well as working on this memorial, our team also cleaned Salisbury city’s war memorial ready for Remembrance Day. Two of the names on that stone were members of my own family. That brought it all much closer to home.”

Governor of Erlestoke prison, Tim Knight said: "There’s no doubt that there are challenges managing a prison like this but that shouldn’t overshadow the remarkable work being done by our dedicated and passionate team.

"We are committed to working with partner agencies like Salisbury Cathedral to provide intervention programmes, and skill and vocational based training and education to make a difference.”