Compo statue set for new year start

Sep 15 2003 By Ed Reed, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

He said of his father's continuing impact on the show: "It is really quite extraordinary. He is buried just up the road and you really do feel he's sitting on your shoulder. Although he's gone, he will always remain a huge part of Last of the Summer Wine."

John Alder said the sculpture would take about six months to make.

"This is a special commission and I'm absolutely sure I can do it justice.

"I knew Bill. I met him several times and he was a really interesting character. I really loved talking to him. He was so important in his own right, not just as Compo.

"It's a tribute to Bill Owen, not to Compo."

The quiet King's Head Garden could also be reflagged with Yorkshire stone.

Names of other Last of the Summer Wine characters would be carved into the flags as a lasting memorial to the series.

Andrew Bray, a trustee of the Bill Owen Memorial Trust, said: "The statue of Compo will be a fitting tribute to Bill."

Related stories