[MSN] £15,000 statue stolen

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£15,000 statue stolen
By Sarah Boobyer
 
The statue which has been stolen from the churchyard.
Photo:
http://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/news/bmnewsbridgwater/display.var.781971.
0.15_000_statue_stolen.php
 
VILLAGERS say it will be a huge task to replace a £15,000 bronze statue
depicting a World War One soldier if it is not recovered, after it was
stolen from St Mary's Church in Chedzoy.

The statue of Sydney Mason Collins astride his horse has had pride of place
in the church grounds since 1950, four years after the soldier's death, and
marked his final resting place.

But thieves stole the bronze statue from its plinth sometime between 8pm on
Friday, May 19, and 8.30am on Saturday, May 20, and there are fears it has
been taken to melt down for scrap.

The soldier served with the Signals in France from 1914 to 1918 and his
family can be traced back to Chedzoy as far back as the late 16th Century.

continued...
Malcolm Friend, a churchwarden, discovered it stolen when he opened up the
church on the Saturday morning. He says the village is upset by the theft
and doesn't believe the statue can be replaced.

"The loss of the statue is very upsetting in the village as it was a local
landmark and a lot of people have commented how upset they are," he said.
"As we understand all the family of Sydney Mason Collins have now died and
there are no surviving family at all.

"We are trying to get in touch with the solicitors who dealt with the
estate, but it would be a huge task to try and replace something like that.

"The loss of the statue is very upsetting"  
Churchwarden Malcolm Friend 
 
"We do appeal to anyone who knows anything about this theft to get in touch
with police."

The statue is between 4ft and 5ft high and depicts the soldier in his army
uniform sitting astride a horse.

A vehicle would have been used during the theft, as the statue - designed by
Cecil Thomas after the soldier's death in 1946 - is very heavy.

As well as serving as a soldier, Sydney Mason Collins, was a fellow of
Corpus Christi College, Oxford, a barrister at law at the Inner Temple and a
Fellow of the Society of Antiquities.

During his World War One service he was mentioned in dispatches and it is
believed he visited Chedzoy once during his lifetime but was associated with
the village because of his family's connections.

There was a report of a white transit van in the area at the time and the
registration number had a W or Y and a figure eight in it. Anyone who has
any information regarding the theft of the statue is asked to contact
Bridgwater Police on 0845-4567000 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555111.

http://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/news/bmnewsbridgwater/display.var.781971.
0.15_000_statue_stolen.php