West End Village Society (WEVS) has celebrated the installation of its landmark sculpture of a red deer stag on one of its two roundabouts on the A322.

The installation represents the many red deer located on the military land (a large part of which is included in West End parish) adjacent to Brentmoor Heath in West End.

This is the culmination of a major project by WEVS, which has taken several years to reach fruition, partly caused by the interruption of Covid-19, and was only made possible by the generosity of local people and organisations who contributed to the fund.

On Monday, 1 July, a plaque, sited close to the sculpture and listing the major contributors, was unveiled by Surrey county councillor, Rebecca Jennings-Evans, who remarked that she looked forward to hearing what WEVS next project might be.

The event was attended by local councillors, contributors and WEVS committee members. WEVS hopes the sculpture will become an iconic feature of its thriving village.

WEVS have been very active over the past few years, having planted over 170,000 daffodil bulbs throughout the village and most recently a community orchard on the nearby Windlemere SANGs (Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspaces).

Anyone interested in joining the village society should contact [email protected] or visit the WEVS marquee at the Ag & Hort Show on 14 September.

The sculptor, George Hider, is based in Merriott, South Somerset, and works with metal which is often gathered from scrap that he has acquired. Much of his work is inspired by his love of animals. George can be contacted via his email address [email protected].

WEVS are indebted to the installation contractor Bill Kear, who not only contributed to the fund, but stored the sculpture for many months and pulled out all the stops to get the work done once planning approval was given.