Veterans who handmade memorials to fallen soldiers were dismayed to find they had been stolen.
They discovered that four of the wooden silhouettes had been taken from the display near Leigh Sports Village in in Greater Manchester was made earlier by members of a group set up to support ex-service people.
George Brooks, who launched The Reeva Programme, said: “We are absolutely gutted.
“I’m upset, I’m angry, and I’m sad, because I know the effort that went into making every single one of those crosses, making every single one of those tommies.”