Compo statue put on hold

Jul 5 2000 By SALLY COPE

PLANS for a Compo statue in Holmfirth as a tribute to Last Of The Summer Wine actor Bill Owen have been put on hold after his widow objected to the idea.

Fans of Bill - who dubbed himself Holmfirth's adopted son - have already donated thousands of pounds for a scheme to creating a lasting memorial to the actor.

Compo's Cafe owner Joe Tate and Holmfirth greengrocer Andrew Bray were hoping to commission a life-size bronze statue of Bill and have organised a giant raffle to boost the fund.

Cash is still pouring in to the fund from fans around the world, but a use for the money has yet to be decided on.

The idea of a statue has been condemned by Bill's widow, Kathie Owen.

She said: "My late husband would have been appalled at such a suggestion.

"The character of Compo played by Bill was the total antithesis of the man himself and such a statue would not be appreciated by Bill Owen."

Bill's son, Tom, who is currently filming a new series of Summer Wine in Holmfirth, disagreed with his stepmother.

He said: "I knew my father very well.

"Because of the love he had for the people of Holmfirth and the town, he would be dearly touched to be permanently remembered.

"A statue would benefit Holmfirth and the many hundreds of people who come to see Last Of The Summer Wine being shot."

Mr Bray said: "A statue is one of the possibilities that has been suggested but we are not going ahead with that yet.

"Mrs Owen is against it and Tom is all for it, so we are setting up the fund to legally manage the money and we will see how things progress from there."

"We are setting up a committee to legally manage the fund and they, together with Holme Valley Business Association and Holme Valley Regeneration Committee, will be responsible for deciding what happens."