Ian Swales MP and Cllr Eric Howden to host Memorial Walk

To mark the centenary of the First World War, Ian Swales MP and Redcar British Legion Chair, Cllr Eric Howden will be hosting a sponsored walk around the war memorials in Redcar Constituency on Saturday 14 June 2014. The Standard from the Legion will be carried and present at each memorial and a cross will be placed.

20 miles in total, the walk will begin in New Marske Church at 8.00am and end at Redcar Cenotaph around 5.30pm. All proceeds will go to the Redcar British Legion’s Poppy Appeal and Blind Veterans UK. 

Ian and Eric would love for people to join them on the walk for as much or little as they feel able.  Meeting points and a lunch stop have been arranged so that people can join at different stages of the walk or come along to make donations.

To take part or find out more please contact (01642) 777940 or email ian@ianswales.com

To sponsor the Memorial Walk please contact us or use the fundraising page: www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Memorialwalk

Labour war graves gaffe

Labour Councillors at Redcar & Cleveland were today left red-faced after their attacks on Government plans for war graves proved unfounded. They were then forced into an embarrassing climbdown.

Labour Councillor Wendy Wall put forward a motion condemning the Government after an article in a national paper said that there were plans to cut the budget for war graves maintenance by £16.5 million.

The motion was seconded by the Labour Leader of the Council. 

But Lib Dem Leader Chris Abbott produced not just one but two letters from Government Ministers confirming that the claims in the paper were untrue. 

A letter from the Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey says that:

“The Ministry of Defence will continue to meet its obligations to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and will be providing them with over £42 million this year to continue the excellent work they do.”

A further letter from Andrew Robathan MP, Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare & Veterans says:

“I can confirm that the story on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission published in the Sunday Mirror on 20 February is completely untrue.”

Cllr Mrs Wall then withdrew her motion, saying "I never got the right facts."

Lib Dem Cllr Eric Howden, who does a great deal of work for the British Legion, said:

“It is disgraceful that Labour once again tries to make headlines for itself with false information. To attack the Government based on nothing more than unsubstantiated information mentioned in a national newspaper is downright cold-hearted. To put the relatives of those who paid the ultimate price for their country in the fear that their graves, some in lands too far away to visit, that they would be left neglected, is about a low as one could go just to try and gain a few political points.”

Lib Dem Group Leader Chris Abbott added:

“I am particularly staggered that the Leader of the Council should be so unprofessional as to put his name to a motion like this without checking his facts. This incompetent scaremongering shows that Labour are not fit to run the council.”

Voting System must be changed for the armed forces

Very few of our armed forces will actually vote in the forthcoming General Election due to the systems used. Anyone stationed abroad must vote by post and, given the deadlines, very few of them will be able to vote in time. This will be especially true for those stationed in remote parts and fighting on the front line in Afghanistan.

Ian Swales, Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Redcar, said "it's a scandal that many of our troops are bravely fighting to bring democracy to other countries while they are denied their basic democratic rights at home. In practice few of our service personnel will vote in the forthcoming election. Other countries such as Canada have solved this problem and report high turn outs from troops serving abroad. The Government have known about this for a long time but only set up a working party in January. That group has yet to report so there's no chance of implementing any recommendations before the General Election.

"Our troops have been getting a raw deal on equipment, pay and housing. Now they're being denied the right to have their say."

Eric Howden, Chairman of the British Legion in Cleveland said "This is disgusting, our troops put their lives on the line for this country daily and to deny them the simple right to vote is almost criminal and shows what our government really think of our troops. Our troops have fought for the right to the freedom of a vote on behalf of so many countries for so many years, only for our country stop them having that same right."

Lib Dems Demand Bus Services to new Redcar Hospital

Liberal Democrat councillors in Redcar will this week demand better bus services from Dormanstown and East Redcar to the town’s new hospital.

At present people in Dormanstown have to catch two buses or face a long walk to the new Redcar Primary Care Hospital.

Not only that, the new complex is now the location of several local GPs.

At this Thursday’s meeting of Redcar & Cleveland Council, Dormanstown Councillor Eric Howden will ask the Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways to demand a better service from bus operators.

Eric said:

“People have to meet appointments. If appointments are missed, which at present many are, they may have to wait a long time for another to be allocated. Many of the people affected are ill and infirm. It is our duty to help them.”

“People in East Redcar face a similar problem. A circular type route that gives maximum coverage to both these areas and runs from 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday would be well used and greatly appreciated.”

Yorkshire Day in Saltburn Photographs

The Duck Race gets underway with Ian Swales commentating
and Chris Abbott shepherding

The British Legion stall. Dave Blissett (left) and Councillor Eric Howden

Secretary of Yorkshire Ridings Society Nancy Hudson

Glynis Abbott on the YRS Products stall

The Saltburn Miniature Railway always flies the
Yorkshire flag on Yorkshire Day

Our Daniel wins the North Riding Duck Race

Posted by Chris:

You wait years for Yorkshire Day (1st August) to fall on a Saturday, organise a bigger event than usual event and it rains!

The miserable weather kept the crowds away from our Summer Fayre and Duck Race and even some of the stall holders stayed at home.

Prospective Lib Dem MP for Redcar, Ian Swales and Councillor Eric Howden started the day off in Redcar High Street where Eric promoted the sale of white roses by the ladies of Redcar Ladies Lifeboat Guild, in aid of Redcar lifeboat and Ian read the Yorkshire Declaration of Integrity.

In Marske Yorkshire flags were flying from several properties in the High Street and another flew proudly from the pole outside the Saltburn Conservative Club.

The North Riding Duck Race in Saltburn Valley Gardens was combined this year with a Summer Fayre, expertly organised by Councillor Irene Curr on behalf of the Yorkshire Ridings Society. The miserable weather kept the crowds away in spite of the fact that we were able to give hundreds of free packs of Yorkshire Tea away courtesy of the Yorkshire Tea Company of Harrogate.

The weather also severely hit our duck race entries with an all time low of only 88. It was such a pity because for the first time in the ten or so years we have held the event the conditions in Saltburn Beck were perfect. The wind was blowing the correct way and there was enough water flowing to move the race along quickly.

Ian Swales commentated on the race whilst I donned my waders (which I bought a few years ago for fishing and have only ever used for the Duck Race) to rescue all the snagged ducks. The result of the race probably reflected those who had sponsored the most ducks with such a small number of entries.

Our five years old Grandson Daniel's duck, Divito, was the first to reach the weir. He is pictured above with the Colin Holt Cup and £15 worth of book tokens.

The result of the 2009 Duck Race was as follows:

First Place - Duck No 51 'Divito,' Daniel Abbott, Redcar
Second Place - Duck No 37 'Breast of Luck,' Anne-Marie Swales, Thornaby
Third Place - Duck No 77 'Kookie,' Councillor Irene Curr, Redcar

The winner of the Best Named Duck was Alf Muir of Middlesbrough with "Cor Luv a Duck," chosen by Eric Howden and Dave Blissett of the British Legion.

The raffle prize, of a basket of Yorkshire grocery products, was won by Emma Morgan of Redcar.

SAVING LIVES - AND REMEMBERING LIVES: A SPECIAL SERVICE OF DEDICATION

The memory of Redcar and Cleveland residents who have lost their lives at sea and the debt of gratitude to those who battle to save lives is being honoured at a special ceremony in Redcar cemetery on Sunday, May 24.

A parade will leave Redcar Racecourse at 2pm for the cemetery, led by the Hartlepool Sea Cadets' bugles and drums, and include ex-servicemen, organised by parade marshall Eric Howden plus representatives from the sea cadets, the RAF, the Army, the Redcar lifeboat crew and the lifeboat itself.

Then at the cemetery, there are plans for a 45-minute service and the unveiling of two commemorative plaques.

The event marks the culmination of three years work by the Friends of Redcar Cemetery that has restored the cemetery's old rose garden and created two facing memorial gardens, with stones and plaques.

The first plaque, to be unveiled by Dave Buckworth, the secretary of the Merchant Navy Association, has an extract from an old 1800s hymn:

"Fierce was the wild billow, dark was the night. Men laboured heavily, foam glimmered white. Trembled the mariners, peril was nigh. Then said the Lord of Lords, Peace: It is I."

The second plaque, to be unveiled by Redcar lifeboat's senior helmsman Mike Picknett, who lost three relatives in a sea tragedy in 1900, uses an extract from a poem, For I am a Lifeboatman, by John Hanvey, the chairman of Seahouses RNLI.

It reads: "When I am called to duty Lord, wherever gales may rage, give me strength to save a life whatever be their age. Help me to brave the tempest before it is too late and save some struggling seaman from the horror of their fate."

The 45-minute service, to be jointly conducted by the vicar of St Peter's, the Reverend Canon John Weetman and Colin Worwick, chaplain to the Mission to Seafarers, will include addresses from the Council's newly-elected Mayor, Councillor Brian Briggs, Redcar MP Vera Baird and Lord Zetland, the Friends' patron. Marske Fishermen's Choir will also perform three sea shanties.

The Friends' chairman Ged Fleming said: "Sunday will be the realisation of so much hard work. We all hope it will a special and memorable day."

The Council's Cabinet Member for the Environment Councillor Sylvia Szintai said: "We have been only too pleased to help, not only with grant aid, but also with the creation of these two memorial gardens."

The £7,000 funding package includes £2,000 from Redcar and Cleveland Council's Community Fund, £1,500 from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, £100 from the Freemason Lodge of Philosophy, a personal donation from the Friends' 95-year-old president, Vera Robinson MBE, and money raised from sales and tombolas.

*Anyone wishing to attend the Sunday service is urged to park at the Racecourse car park, via its entrance off Redcar Lane.