A MEMORIAL bench in honour of a former Wiltshire Times paper seller has been unveiled in Trowbridge Park this week.

Dorothy White sold papers in the town centre for 36 years and it was from a letter in the paper last year by Hilperton Marsh resident Stanley Jones, recalling the days of Mrs White selling the papers on the corner of Manvers Street, that prompted her daughter June to proceed with a memorial.

Mrs White’s daughter Mrs Herriott said: “Mum was quite a character in the town.

“There was a letter in the paper in November time and the man from Hilperton said what a character mum was and so it was from that we decided to do this.

“Mother loved Trowbridge and so it is nice to be able to give people who may have known her the chance to remember her in a place where she often visited.”

Mrs White started selling papers in 1940 when she was 32 after her husband Frank Snr was sent to war in the navy.

Mrs Herriott said growing up along with her late brother Frank Jnr in Westcroft Street, the pair enjoyed helping their mum out on the stand which she carried on after the war because she loved the social aspect to the job.

She said: “She was a war time wife and she couldn’t rely on the naval money and that is why she started to sell the papers on the stand.

“She thoroughly enjoyed it because she loved a good gossip and selling the papers was a way for her to have one.”

Mr White died in 1952, aged just 44 which was another reason why his wife decided to carry on the position and she lived independently in Westfield Close until she died in 1991, aged 82 after collapsing on a weekend break to Weymouth.

The bench has been installed to the south of the park facing in the direction of the growing orchard behind the Civic Centre - a spot Mrs White's family think she would have liked.

Carl Maddox, direct services supervisor at Trowbridge Town Council oversaw the project and added: “The family came to me about two months ago and while it took time to plan, we decided that its current location in the park was the best place because it is right in front of the orchard so in a few years’ time, it will be in bloom.

“The bench we chose needed to be strong and sturdy and it is made of recycled materials so it will last a long time.”