DEAL should have a permanent memorial to the Royal Marines, not just the band members who died in the IRA bombing, according to the Marines' former standard bearer.

John Barrett, of The Strand, Deal, a Commando with the Marines for 25 years, has called for a prominent monument to the servicemen after recent suggestions that the memorial garden should be moved from the barracks.

"The last place it wants to be is at the back of the barracks where it is out of site," he said. "It is not accessible to the general public and who is going to look after it? The council said it would, but when the time came for them to do the work it wasn't done."

Mr Barrett, who attended the funerals of 10 of the 11 musicians killed by the IRA in 1989, as the Royal Marines' standard bearer, said there is no room for memorial services in the garden.

He has come up with an idea for a four-sided pyramid-style monument on Walmer Green, opposite the memorial bandstand.

One side of the 20ft-high monument would be dedicated to the Royal Marines, one to the Royal Marines School of Music, one for the 11 who died in the IRA bomb attack and the other for the town's long relationship with the Royal Marines. The bandsmen had the largest percentage of casualties in the two world wars.

A time capsule about the area affected by the Marines during the hundreds of years they were based in the town could be put inside the pyramid. The monument could be partly funded by the Royal Marines Association and by donations from individuals and businesses.

Mr Barrett is not alone in calling for changes to the memorials in the town. The Isle of Thanet Royal Marines Association contacted the East Kent Mercury newspaper to suggest the memorial garden should be moved next to Deal Castle, not The Strand, as suggested by Lt Col Chris Davis, principal director of music, during the Marines' annual concert on Walmer Green last month.

The branch secretary, Ron Williams, said: "Without going into who did what to the old concert hall, the general consensus was that the memorial garden should be moved.

"The other factor to take into consideration is the openness of the Strand site and the eventual vandalism that would follow the re-siting."

However, many people and former Royal Mar-ines feel strongly that the garden on the former barracks site should remain open for the family and friends of the victims of the IRA bombing.