MORE than 100 people attended a ‘gripping’ adventure talk in aid of a war memorial restoration project on Saturday.

Residents packed out St Peter’s Church, Over Wallop, to listen to ‘amusing tales’ from explorer Colonel John Blashford-Snell, to raise funds to replace the names of village survivors of the First World War on the Over Wallop war memorial.

The audience also listened to a medley of First World War tunes sang by the Wallops Amateur Singers and Performers (WASPS).

The colonel’s presentation included slides and videos of his experiences in Ethiopia which led to the first navigation of the Blue Nile, as well as formations of other operations such as Operations Drake and Raleigh.

More recent expeditions have focused on conversation and sustainability.

The evening raised £1,600 for the restoration project spearheaded by veteran Ben Cartwright with the help of fellow Over Wallop resident Peter Hope.

The duo hope to restore Over Wallop’s four crumbling pillars which have not been legible since the 1960s.

The project, called They Also Served, will replace the pillars with the same stone to get the memorial looking as it did 100 years ago.

Further fundraisers are planned for the project, the next being an exhibition on the war memorial repair plans at St Peter’s Church hall on 14 April, between 4pm and 8pm.