THE 10-year-old cousin of a soldier killed in Afghanistan gave a moving speech to mark the unveiling of a war memorial in a new £6 million medical centre.

At the ceremony in the Ongar War Memorial Medical Centre in the Fyfield Road, Ongar, yesterday (Thursday, May 10) a new plaque bearing the names of 598 servicemen from the Ongar area killed during the two world wars was unveiled.

War veterans, families and health chiefs were present for the speech by Tommy Sparks, cousin of Royal Marine Georgie Sparks, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008 when he was 19 and whose name is amongst those inscribed on the new memorial.

Derek Berwin, 78, of the Royal British Legion, spent three years researching the lives of Ongar’s war dead and added hundreds of names from the Second World War and subsequent conflicts to the 320 deaths already recorded from the First World War.

He said: “It was a really special occasion.

“There were some tears during the speech, when Tommy talked about how much he missed his cousin.

“It confirmed something that really made an impression on me during the research, which is that all of these names have a human story, and many were so young when they died.

“It is great to see them acknowledged like this.”

Georgie’s father, Wayne, 49, of Theydon Mount in Epping, said: “I am very proud of Tommy, who gave a fantastic speech that had people very moved.

“I was pleasantly surprised by the new memorial which is different to more traditional ones, very modern and classy.”

A sneak preview was also given of the new £6 million medical facilities that are scheduled to open in August this year and include a dental practice, two GP practices and clinics for specialist treatment, including speech and language therapy and physiotherapy. It replaces the old 1930s Ongar War Memorial Hospital that was demolished in 2009 after authorities judged the facilities outdated.

The war memorial that was part of the old hospital is now on display in Chelmsford Museum.