A small army of ex-servicemen led a brave campaign to restore a vandalised war memorial before Remembrance Sunday to an 11th-hour victory.

The race to mend the monument began after thieves ruined the tribute at St John the Baptist Church when they stole lead from its roof on September 5.

The outraged response from the community prompted the Surrey Comet to launch its Honour the Fallen campaign and, thanks to its generous readers, it raised more than £3,000 to kick-start restoration.

Former paratrooper and now carpenter Stuart Allen worked furiously around the clock to repair the tribute.

He summoned a group of people, including Russell Bishop, 27, a private in the Iraq war, to transport it from his workshop in Dogmersfield, Hampshire, to the church in Old Malden and hoist it into position.

Speaking to the Surrey Comet as the memorial was repositioned, church warden Tony Davis said: “I think it has been a fantastic effort. It is nice to see people have taken such an interest in ensuring our war memorial gets back on its feet for the ceremony.

“We are very grateful to the Surrey Comet as well for all its energy and support.

“There is no doubt the church would have been struggling to find the money from its own funds, because in a time of recession they are hard to come by.”

Mr Allen, a Falklands veteran who served in the Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers for a decade, researched the history of the men recorded on the monument.

He said: “Having been to the Somme, those names are not just names.

“It is the same as what went on in the Falklands. I lost friends when I was in the Army. Their names are on plaques.

“It makes you want to put it back up better than it was before. I am trying to put back the beauty of how it was.

“It had to be done with a bit of TLC. You are not just making a door or something.”

Mr Bishop is the third generation of his Aldershot family to serve in the Paras: his grandfather was in Egypt in the 1950s, while his father and uncle both fought in the Falklands.

He said: "We felt good this morning doing this and giving what they died for us."

Joining him in helping Mr Allen was Lenny Carey, 30, who said he was proud of his country, and Greg Wand, 26, who said it was a special job.

The Surrey Comet would like to say a huge thank you to all of the people who donated to the Honour the Fallen campaign. Buy next week’s Surrey Comet to find out how the memorial service went.

***Check the Surrey Comet website later today for a video of the memorial being repaired and restored to in the church yard***