THE new Memorial Hall in Farnham – refurbished at a cost of £3.2million – has been officially re-opened.

Major General Tim Sulivan, a Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey, did the honours last Friday, stepping in at the last moment after MP Jeremy Hunt – who was due to cut the ribbon – was held up on parliamentary business.

The Memorial Hall was built by the owner of Farnham United Breweries in 1920 and opened in 1921.

It was created in memory of his employees who died in the First World War – Private George William Ayres, Private Mark William George Glazier, Charles Thomas Hawkins, Frederick Charles Mansey and John Baden-Powell Wallace.

As a mark of respect, all the rooms for hire inside the hall are named after the fallen soldiers.

The Waverley Borough Council mayor, Councillor Denise Le Gal, spoke of the local authority’s ‘major investment’ and how the hall’s transformation fulfilled the original stipulation from Farnham United Breweries, which gifted it in 1947 to be used for the local community.

She said the project was an example of local partnership, with major contributions from the developers of Brightwells Yard, Crest Nicholson, the Farnham and NE Hants Clinical Commissioning Group and Surrey County Council. She said the building now had a sustainable future.

Among the guests welcomed by Major General Sulivan were the leader of Waverley Borough Council, Julia Potts, Cllr Jenny Else, the portfolio holder for health, wellbeing and culture, trustees and clients of The Gostrey Centre, and other community groups that use the hall.

Meg Daniels, a relative of one of the fallen soldiers, Frederick Charles Mansey, joined in with the cutting of the ribbon ceremony.

Major General Sulivan said that in 12 years, 453 members of the British forces had died in Afghanistan.

To bring home the horrors of the Great War, he said that on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 2016, 20,000 British soldiers were killed and 38,000 wounded.

Memorial Hall manager Adele O’Sullivan said she was proud of the new facilities on offer.

“It offers so much for the community,” she said.

“Yes, we have a lovely hall, but there’s so much more than that.

“We have other meeting rooms of different sizes that can be hired out, we have a specially-adapted room that offers assisted bathing, we have some lovely rooms – and a balcony – that overlook Farnham’s football ground, and downstairs is Waverley Training Services, which does amazing work with young people.

“We have a wellbeing suite, a hair salon, therapy room, classrooms, office space, a new kitchen, a dining area – and the new main hall provides the perfect space for parties or wedding receptions.”

Cllr Else said: “It is wonderful to see the Memorial Hall filled with people and to officially celebrate its opening.

“The new facilities have not only created a bright and modern new home for the Gostrey Centre, but also a social hub that is being well used by the community.”

n The hall and its rooms are available for hire. To find out more, visit www.waverley.gov.uk/memorialhall or to make an appointment to view or book the hall, call 01483 523340 or e-mail [email protected].