The
website and domain were both renewed in October 2007; you may wonder what it
cost? The fees required are as follows Basic Web hosting at £30.00 and the
domain £12.50 both plus VAT per year, I trust you feel this is money well
spent?
We have at least 35 members who
have access to the Internet and since 2001 have had 7,001 visitors to
the site and the site is rated fairly high when searching for Probus
Club on the Google search engine. The monthly reports appear to be a
source of useful information especially for members who do not attend
the meetings due to various conflicting diaries.
Future events and perhaps pre
reading information of the speakers topics are thanks to Ken Robinson
well ahead into 2009, and the new and past activities such as the Royal
Observatory, the theatre trip and Portsmouth are well advertise on the
site.
For the Ladies lunch, most
tables and guests appear in photographs and perhaps it is a pity that
most members do not view these, of course they can be copied and printed
by any Internet users if so desired.
Otherwise there is not much else
to report, but the webmaster is always appreciative of any useful data
about the membership’s activities and of course future events.
Cliff Douthwaite - Webmaster AGM
March 2008
SECRETARY'S AGM 2007 REPORT
Ken Amess said without doubt the highlight of the Club’s past year
had to be the 2006 Christmas Ladies Lunch when we had as our Guest
Speaker, Virginia McKenna, OBE, with the Born Free Foundation. The
general consensus of opinion seemed to be that this was probably the
best yet, a view with which Ken wholeheartedly agreed. Its success was
in no small part due to Eric Hussey and Ken Robinson and they were to be
congratulated. Member, David Wood had attended in his official role as
the Mayor of the Borough of Epsom & Ewell. David is the latest of the
Club’s members to have served the Borough in this role.
The Club had endeavoured to use the event to gain some publicity for
itself. However, given the high profile of the Speaker, Virginia McKenna
it was not surprising the local press had concentrated on her rather
than the Club.
Twelve months ago the Club’s Membership had stood at 77. This had
fallen to 70, including Honorary Member, Ernie Palmer. Sadly, as had
been announced earlier today, Harry Podd had died on the 1st
March 2007. The Club were to be represented at his funeral, by the
President and five other members. There had been 6 resignations, Eddie
Bacon, Jim Dyson, Eric Ellerton, John Hawkins, Richard Macmullen and
Tony Holland.
Ken said probably the most disappointing aspect of the past year was
that, very unusually, he was unable to report an intake of any new
members. Indeed it was exactly 12 months ago that the last new members
had joined the Club. He took this opportunity to make the strongest of
appeals to all members to use their best endeavours in the year ahead to
introduce new members. Ken pointed out the Club needed to recruit new
Members saying the Club’s future lies in the strength of its membership
and it was in all our interests to ensure this happens. It was to be
hoped the report for 2007/08 would reflect an improved picture in this
respect.
Application Forms were available upon request. In the future these
could be accompanied by a simple Information Pack which Ken was in the
course of preparing.
Also, it was unusual to have to say the past 12 months had also seen
a distinct paucity of members Guests attending the monthly Lunches, this
despite some entertaining and interesting Speakers.
The 2007 Memberships List is due to be circulated in April.
The Club’s Website continues to receive regular compliments and for
this the Club were very much indebted to Cliff Douthwaite. Apart from
the fact of its advertising the Club it has, in the past, been
instrumental in introducing new members as well as visitors from other
Probus Clubs, here and abroad, last month being an example. As those
members who had declared their e-mail addresses would know Cliff send
each a report with photographs, etc of each month’s lunch talk, all
within hours of the talk taking place. This was very useful for those
members who had been unable to attend. Ken asked that members who had
yet to declare their e-mail address to please advise Cliff with out
delay.
There had been a succession in interesting post lunch talks. Ken
Robinson was to be congratulated. It is no easy task to consistently
find the wide variety of speakers and subjects that Ken has done now for
many years.
Next month would see the commencement of the Borough’s newly
appointed Caterers for Bourne Hall.
The Club’s Notice Board was used as a means of communication with
the membership. As well as the Website the Club’s existence is made
known by Plaques together with the usual supply of leaflet at Bourne
Hall. Additionally there are entries in the Borough’s Insight Magazine,
Borough Leisure Listing Booklet and the Surrey County Council Database.
A donation of £450 was made to the President’s nominated Charity,
the Royal Marsden, Sutton to whom the President has said he personally
will be forever eternally grateful.
There had been 3 Committee meetings during the year.
Ken announced Bob Sullivan would today being stepping down as
Welfare Secretary. Ken said that, as usual, Bob had undertaken this job
in his usual efficient manners, as only Bob can. Ken thanked Bob for all
he done since assuming the position of Welfare Secretary and was sure
the many Members and their families had appreciated his contact. It was
pointed out Bob had assumed the position after many years as Secretary
and the Club were appreciative of his work for it over the many years.
Ken said he was taking the opportunity of advising members Charles
Peall, a past President, would be attending the April Luncheon meeting
when he would receive the Club’s “Certificate of Excellence”. Members
would recall their approval was given at the November 2006 meeting. It
was hoped there would be a good attendance to welcome Charles back.
Ken closed his report by congratulating the President, Richard
Whittington on his successful year, the occasional anecdotes as well as
his conducting of the Lunches and Committee Meetings. Thanks were also
due to his fellow Committee Officers and the Membership for their
support over the past year.
Secretary Ken Amess
Webmasters Report for
Probus Club of Ewell AGM 2007
The
website for the Club is into it’s sixth year and the numbers of visitors
to the site is nearly 5,000, I am aware about 30 members (42%) have
direct access to the Internet which is lower than I would expect as
Epsom and Ewell rate their households as nearly 75% one of the highest
in the country, with pensioner usage rated very high! Of course that
does not mean this is the actual figure to be reflected in our Club?
After
each meeting we generate a report and those on e-mail are advised of the
update I have little feedback from the membership but much more from the
speakers and indeed other clubs interested of how they can contact the
presenters.
From
time to time we get visitors via the internet, this last year for
the May 2006 meeting we were pleased to welcome
Bob Russell who visited us whilst in the UK Bob hails from near Perth in
Australia and has been President of his Probus Club in Mandurah Western
Australia.
Last month February 2007 meeting we were please
to welcome Rev. Raymond Leigh a member of the Bognor Regis Probus Club,
Ray is retired from the Anglican Ministry but is at present also the
Resident Priest at St Thomas a' Becket , Pagham, Sussex. Ray was
visiting because he and his wife are planning to relocate in this area
and he felt it would be nice to check out the local Probus Clubs and
came via our website which invites all visitors to join us.
Most
member who agree have their photograph on the site, this of course is a
personal choice.
I hope
that members feel that the site has been a useful asset to the club, but
it is of course only another source of awareness of the Club’s
offerings, but the more that the membership use the site and feedback
useful information, the better hopefully it will be.
Unless
there are any questions this is my report for the past year
Cliff Douthwaite
Craftsman
and Veteran - by Kevin Barnes with thanks to the Epsom Guardian
Harry Podd - 29 th March 1920 - 1 st March 2007
When
Harry Podd started an antique dealers and cabinet
makers in Epsom he was continuing
a family business that dated from 16th century
France.
The great-grandfather and
his late brother, Stanley, were
descendants of the Huguenots, who fled religious persecution
to become an important element in
English craftsmanship.
The Podds were proud of their French connection and they preserved it
through the name of their Huguenot
shop in South Street, Epsom,
Surrey.
They made such a success of the business over 38 years that
their name is likely to endure,
despite the death of Harry on
March 1 2007.
This week, his only child Antoinette
said: "Harry very
bravely fought against cancer
and will be sadly missed by all
who knew him. His wife, Celia,
and his family say he will
never be forgotten."
Harry began his apprenticeship,
aged 14. It was interrupted
when he served as a leading
air mechanic on the Colossus
aircraft carrier (below) during the
Burma Campaign.
After his shop closed in i988
Harry retired, but continued
working
from home as a restorer. He
joined the Burma Star Association and the Probus
Club of Ewell, making many
friends.
His main source of joy,
though, was his grandson, two
granddaughters, the great-grandson
named after him, and his three
great-granddaughters.
The Last Post will sound
during Harry's memorial
service at St
Martin's Church,
Epsom, at 1.30pm on Monday 19 th March 2007.
A crematorium service will
follow at Randalls Park,
Leatherhead, at 2.45pm.
Webmasters Report for Committee
Meeting Thursday 19 October 2006
The website continues to get visitors, to date
4,884 since inception, we are in our approximately fifth year of
operation, and next week the 24 hour server space needs to be renewed at
a total cost of £55, if the committee agree? In the PROBUS magazine for
Autumn 2006 page 24 there is a published article “Are we the First?”
really about the fact that we have most member’s photographs on the
site, so far nobody has challenged this fact. Copy follows:-
A few issues ago we had a challenge about
who started the first UK Probus Club; well this is a challenge for you
all to ponder, but this time about websites. No not about which sites
was the first, but about a picture gallery of ALL the members.
We believe it is the
Probus Club of Ewell http://www.ewell-probus.org.uk who since April 2005
have ALL the membership of 70+ on the site (please check for yourselves
in Gallery), so if you can beat that please via the magazine or by
e-mail prove your point.
The following points
have been raised and are worth considering, following reservations from
the membership about Identity Fraud, the webmaster has been informed by
the I T Specialists via Epsom Police Station, that a named photograph
does not represent any such risks. Hence we feel that our site conforms
to these requirements.
In general criminal
activities are restricted once a photograph for recognition purposes is
shown, the Police also say that credit card details, invoices, bank and
consumer accounts etc. are the main source of identity fraud and these
should be destroyed, best by shredding rather than just binning.
Needless to say that
the option not to have individual’s pictures on the site is a matter of
personal choice and this has been respected, to date only three members
have requested this option.
There have been
questions raised as to the value of putting pictures of the membership
on a web site, well the site is available all the time providing one has
access to the Internet either at home/work or perhaps in the local
library.
But the most useful is
that as a Club over 70 strong it is very difficult to find out who is
who at monthly meetings or limited activities, so this gives the
opportunity to not only recognise folk by sight but to know their names.
This most appreciated by new members (who unlike those of many years who
purport to know all !) are able to get acquainted much more easily,
joining a large group can be a daunting task, especially if you join
solo via the website which is happening more frequently.
It was considered to
apply a password control so that access is limited to full members, but
this rather defeats the openness of Probus. We are open to the challenge
of being first in this field; we await your verdict and of course
comments good or the reverse!
Cliff Douthwaite
Webmaster for www.ewell-probus.org.uk
As
part of the World’s Greatest Coffee morning,
the
Vice President of the Ewell Probus Club hosted a delightful, even if a bit damp
occasion at Beaumont, 84 Dorling Drive. Towards the end the sun
arrived and many toured the garden and water features, the runner
beans (Wisley Magic) sold like hot cakes on the bring and buy stall.
And reports back indicate these were delicious!
Entrance was free this included
refreshments, BUT many donations were received from
the 70 folk who attended and also from those who could not make the
day and the bring and buy stall was a great success
We raised £583-84,
THANK YOU ALL
The Mayor of Epsom
and Ewell Councillor David Wood (a Probus member) and his Consort Barbara (sister)
were in official attendance.
David Wood our
next Mayor of Epsom and Ewell
Report with thanks to The Epsom
Post
ALTHOUGH
much of his life has been taken up by business in the city of London,
don't be fooled. The heart of David Wood is firmly planted in the green
borough of Epsom and Ewell, where he is shortly to become mayor.
Councillor Wood is a caring countryman - and, while accepting that
development in the name of progress is inevitable, he has nonetheless
striven to protect the rural qualities that, for years, have been an
enduring attraction of the area.
They are rural qualities and
memories from a village boyhood that, to this day, he treasures, such as
the wheat fields and cows grazing at Priest Hill when it was a farm. He
also remembers cows bathing in the pond at Bourne Hall - and a
photograph of such a scene hangs in the mayor's parlour at the town
hall. His aim in his year of office is not self-publicity - he is a
self-effacing man - but rather to raise the profile of the borough.
He is anxious to remind us that
Epsom and Ewell enjoys the highest proportion of open space of any
borough in the country - but it also has the highest housing density in
Surrey.
It is no secret that the area
has led the way with recycling, exceeding its targets and improving
performance year upon year.
Much of the groundwork for
doorstep refuse collection was down to the environment committee, headed
by Councillor Wood, who is the Residents' Association representative for
Nonsuch.
He was responsible for
investment in the state-of-the-art kerbside refuse collection vehicles
which are now seen daily around the borough.
Convinced this was the way
forward, and following its great success, he is now keen to look at ways
of recycling garden waste.
A lifetime member of St Mary's
Parish Church in Ewell, Cllr Wood does not have too much spare time for
hobbies. He is also a valued member of the
Probus Club of Ewell and is a Past President, Treasurer and still sits
on the committee.
His profession as a chartered
accountant kept - and still keeps - him busy, and, while business holds
a keen interest for him, so does the Ewell Parochial Trust, of which he
has been a trustee for the past 10 years.
The charity, for the needy of
the parish, is ancient in format and includes the whole of the old
parish of Ewell, which extends to Lower Kingswood.
He says: "Local help for local
people is still important, even though the state has taken over some of
this responsibility. We feel that there is a way to help people further
who may need it."
A life full of industry is
rewarding, but when does this hard-working Councillor find time for
himself? The answer is in his yearly holidays and his annual trip to the
United States. "I have been around the world," he says modestly. "But I
love America and we go there every year.
"I have been all over, coast to
coast - we love it. We love the people and it's so very relaxing. It's
still very rigid over here," he adds, while planning this year's trip to
Chicago.
But will he enjoy coming home?
A beaming smile: "Oh yes! I believe that Surrey is God's own country,"
he enthuses, clearly delighted at the mention of his beloved Nonsuch.
And it is easy to agree with him that Henry VIII chose well in naming
the unique and historic area Nonsuch. "There is 'none such' like it," he
adds.
Cllr Wood is due to become
mayor on May 17 2006, when he will announce his three favoured charities
for his term of office.
He is already exploring
possibilities of one spectacular which is sure to bring the crowds in -
a Gilbert and Sullivan concert at Epsom Playhouse. A keen fan of G & S,
in his younger years, David stage-managed a small Gilbert and Sullivan
company.
"It was great fun. I like them
enormously, as do so many," he said.
His escort for the year will be
his sister Barbara Wood, who shares David's interest in education (he is
governor of Stoneleigh Park School) while Barbara is governor of two
schools; Blenheim and Wallace Junior.
She, too, is looking forward to
David's year in office, and is busily trying out hats for formal
occasions.
Meanwhile, this quiet
warm-hearted man is clearly committed to doing his best for the borough.
He is turning his full
attention to fundraising ideas, to serving his residents and to
polishing the borough's image.
In the words of the poet Robert
Browning,
God's in His heaven -
all's right with the world.
SECRETARY'S AGM 2006 REPORT
Ken Amess commenced by saying this was his first opportunity
of publicly thanking Bob Sullivan for all
the assistance and guidance received when he took over from Bob after the
last AGM. Ken believed the Club had enjoyed a successful year. The Current
Membership stands at 77.
Since the last AGM the Club had welcomed 12 New Members :-
Roger Tyler, Anthony Rickards, Ray Blears, Brian Canned, Les Trotman,
Richard Macmullen, Tony Ball, Howard Green, Kerry Jasim, Lionel Sellers,
David Rich and John Bethell.
It is hoped all will enjoy good friendship and fellowship -
the Club's aim. He requested Members to ensure Lapel Badges were worn at all
monthly meeting stressing it was of great assistance to new and established
members alike. Any Member who had lost their lapel badge only had
to ask for replacement.
The Club had lost two Members, Dudley Goldsmith and David
Levitt.
Whilst the Club was represented at Dudley's funeral it did
not unfortunately learn of David's passing until after the funeral.
There had been two resignations, Ron Emslie and Tony
Singleton. Ken had written to both assuring they
would be welcomed as Guests at any time.
Charles Peall, a Member for 15 years, President 1988/89 and
responsible for the Club's first foreign trips was today attending his last
meeting before moving away from the area. Ken said the Club wished him well
and looked forward to welcoming him back as a
Guest.
The new Membership list is due to be circulated to Members
during April.
Despite a strong membership, envied by many other Probus
Clubs, the monthly luncheon attendances
only ever average, at the very utmost, approximately 2/3rd of the
total membership. It is to be hoped the
forthcoming year would see a higher overall percentage.
At the last AGM the post of Catering Secretary had been reintroduced. Ken
believed John Mill's Main Course choices had generally met approval. As had
been announced at the luncheon preceding the AGM the Caterers had increased
their charge which the Club was forced to pass on.
There had been 2 well attended Ladies Lunches In May and
December 2005 at the Cuddington Golf Club. Another informal lunch at the
Bridge House, Reigate took place in November 2005.
Also, at the invitation of Epsom Probus Club some of our
Members joined them
for a trip to the theatre at Sonning Mill which was preceded
by lunch.
The Committee had met on 3 occasions.
In July 2005 Welfare Secretary, Keith Ovens resigned from the
Committee citing that his British Legion commitments were not allowing him
to perform the role in the manner he wished. Ken thanked Keith for his years
of good work and reported Keith remained a member of the Club. Latterly Bob
Sullivan had agreed to undertake this role.
Brian Cousins and Les Robinson had indicated, after serving
on the Committee in various roles, they wished to step down, Ken on behalf
of the President, fellow Committee Members and the Membership thanked Brian
and Les for
all their support and work for the Club. It was greatly appreciated and
wished them well on the
"backbenches".
The President had persuaded Doug Clarke to fill the long
vacant position of Social Secretary.
Doug had entered the role with great enthusiasm. He had
arranged a trip to Bisley and a visit to Young's Brewery, Wandsworth. His
2006 programme was awaited with interest.
Yet again Ken Robinson was to be thanked for the succession
of Interesting, entertaining and excellent
Speakers. Members had
been allowed to invite their Ladies or Guests for 2 of the monthly Lunches
which had been well supported.
The Club's Website goes from strength to strength and is
highly regarded and used by many other
Probus Clubs. Ken mentioned he had personally received several enquiries, of
a various nature, one
from a far a field as York.
It had also brought the first foreign visitor when Hove Wood
of the Rustenburg
Probus Club, South Africa joined us at our February 2006 meeting. Some of
our newer Members had been recruited as a result of the Website. Ken
congratulated Cliff Douthwaite.
The Probus Magazine Subscription had been maintained; the
cost was now £13 per quarter for up to100 copies, this is an increase of £1.
The winter 2005 edition had carried a report of the Epsom
Grandstand 2004 Ladies Lunch. Ken commented, "Better late than never I
suppose".
Communication with Members had been maintained via the Club
Notice Board.
In addition to the Website the Club's existence continues to
be publicised by means of a Plaque Notice and Leaflet supply at Bourne Hall,
entries in the Probus Year Book, Borough Insight Magazine, Borough Leisure
Listing, and the Surrey County Council Database.
A Donation of £500 was made to the President's nominated
Charity, The Royal Air force Association
(RAFA).
In April 2005 we congratulated John Garlick upon being named
the Epsom & Ewell Borough's Active Citizen for 2005. A just reward for the
hard work and time he gives to the numerous organisations he helps.
The Club had first hand experience of this during his year of
Presidency and serving on the
Committee.
Ken congratulated President, David Smart on a successful year
and thanked him, his fellow Committee Officers as well as the Membership for
their support over the past year.
Webmasters Report for Probus Club of Ewell AGM
2006
The website for the Club started in 2001 and the numbers of
visitors to the site is rapidly approaching 4,250, as far as I am aware only
about 24 members have access to the Internet, or should I say these are the
members who have trusted me with their e-mails! These get a mail as soon as
a new report is published, whether they read these are up to individual
members.
You may remember that when we started I published
a list of possible advantages of having a
site.
To recap on a few of the many outlined, the results are as
follows:-
Probus visitors from other clubs especially abroad, to date
we have had only one member last month from South Africa. Also new members,
so far only a few have come via this route.
Members who did not attend the activities or dinners are able
to see a report and pictures of the dinners and events, this has functioned
well with Pat Hunt producing the report whilst the webmaster was on holiday,
and other offers are more than welcome.
Advance information of forth-coming lectures or activities,
whilst we have a yearly function card, these pages are well visited and can
be accessed from home or the local library. We get many comments and
requests for further information on these club reports and they have allowed
visitors to reconnect with old friends.
Pictures of the members, useful if you are fairly new to the
club, so far we have about 70 plus pictures on the site, only three members
as is their right have declined.
Via e-mails we keep members informed of the state of
membership, such as the deceased and those in a poor state of health, this
helps to reduce the number of telephone calls the committee need to make.
Naturally we can support any good press the club gets, such
as the:-
Active Citizen Award 2005 The Mayor of Epsom & Ewell,
Councillor Brian Angus, named John Garlick a member of the Probus Club of
Ewell, as the Borough's Active Citizen for 2005 when he presented him with
the award at the Mayor's reception.
And Charles Peall on the AIR The Radio 4 programme, which
goes out every Sunday carried an interview with Charles Peall a member of
the Probus Club of Ewell and the Burma Star Association in connection with
VE and VJ Days, much more of both are on the site.
I hope that members feel that the site has
been a useful asset to the club, but it is of course only another source of
awareness of the Club’s offerings, but the more that the membership use the
site and feedback useful information, the better hopefully it will be.
Unless there are any questions this is my
report for the past year
Cliff Douthwaite
Charles Peall on the AIR
The Radio 4 programme
Broadcasting House, which goes out every Sunday at 9am, on 8 Th May 2005
carried an interview with Charles Peall a member of the Probus Club of Ewell
and the Burma Star Association in connection with VE and VJ Days this year.
Below is a truncated summary
of Charles’s interview.
Charles Peall returned home
from the Far East about half his normal body weight having spent much time
facing torture, slavery and starvation. Churchill described the fall of
Singapore as the worst disaster and greatest capitulation in British
military history. In just two months the imperial army swept through Malaya
and established a foothold on Singapore island; a week after that, the
British raised the white flag. Invasion was a bluff, the Japanese commander
later said; his troops were vastly outnumbered and close to collapse. But it
was a bluff that worked; all the heavy guns were placed to repel a sea borne
invasion whilst the Japanese struck down from the land side via Malaysia.
The defeat was a devastating
blow to morale which ultimately spelled the end of Britain's empire by
exposing its fragility. The fall of Singapore was one of the biggest shocks
of my life, said Charles. It was well over 60 years ago and yet I remember
it exactly. Britain was invincible in everybody's eyes. We felt a sense of
disgrace: you had let down yourself, your country and your family.
But there was also anger; who
had put us in this position and why weren't we still fighting? We had been
told that the Japanese were short sighted, had no skills, were terrible
pilots - and this was from the officials. Of course they were marvellous
pilots and very, very brave to a point that we couldn't understand; they
were quite prepared to die for their country.
Poor planning, inadequate
support from London and lacklustre leadership all confounded the allied war
effort, as did the complacency of officers and colonists who had established
a luxurious, easy-going and decadent lifestyle. There were tea dances when
the Japanese were on the island, said Charles Peall, with disgust. But the
allies might have fought on if anyone had anticipated the nightmare that
would follow the surrender. Japanese cruelty to the POWs - they despised us
for giving in instead of fighting to the death, this was only surpassed only
by their treatment of Chinese civilians, because China and Japan were at
war. When we came down from Changi (Singapore) prison in working parties,
hundreds of heads on sticks were everywhere, said Mr Peall. We learned that
in the first three days of occupation they killed more than 25,000 Chinese.
And yet the civilian
population helped us. There was one old lady who would always bring a tray
of goodies when we went past. Every day the Japanese would bash her around.
And the next day she would be there again, covered in bruises, with her
tray. Such kindness saved thousands held in the prison camps. Changi,
perhaps the most notorious, still stands, but the brute grey concrete blocks
offer no trace of the cruelty and suffering once seen there.
At the height of the war
4,500 prisoners, including 650 women and children, were crammed into
buildings designed for 600. Food was so short that the prisoners tried to
farm snails for protein and for two years the only medical equipment allowed
through was a single bale of cotton wool.
There was worse to come
thousands of those who passed through Changi were shipped north in cattle
trucks to work on the infamous Thai-Burma line that became known as the
death railway. Of the 60,000 allied prisoners who became slave labourers,
16,000 died during construction. Others lasted only a few years after their
release, their health crippled by the harsh physical labour, starvation
rations typically a cup or two of rice per day, frequent beatings - often to
the point of unconsciousness - and the diseases that were rife. Men who were
ill received no food and relied on the kindness of other prisoners.
In the 1950s, the Government
negotiated a payment of £76 for each ex-POW. This compared with the $20,000
dollars paid to each Japanese civilian interned in conditions of comfort in
America and Canada. It has been announced that the Government would not
re-open negotiations with the Japanese Government for compensation payments
to POWs. Charles a former Japanese prisoner-of-war has slated a Government
decision over compensation pay-outs as shameful.
This is just a second kick in
the teeth for us, said Mr Peall, who stressed that he was expressing a
personal opinion, not the official opinion of the Burma Star Association.
All we wanted is the same sort
of payment that was made to the Japanese interned during the war. It’s not
just for us; it is for the widows and families of the POWs. Some of them
could do with a little extra.
ON VE DAY replies to the BBC by e-mail
Thank you so much for broadcasting Charles Peall's memories of his VE
day in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp. My late father (Arthur Wisdom)
was also a Japanese prisoner of war (like Mr Peall he was also in Bam
Pong camp) and so often these men and the brutal treatment they received
get forgotten. Thank you again.
Lesley Pope
Congratulations on a wonderful interview this morning with Charles
Peall. I do hope his superbly articulate memories are preserved on the
BBC. web site and at the Imperial War Museum. Well done, too, to Dominic
Arkwright. His pieces are always worth a listen, and it's interesting to
note that he realises when to let the interviewee do the talking and
doesn't make "funny" asides.
Gillian Sharpe
Active Citizen Award
2005
The Mayor of Epsom & Ewell, Councillor Brian Angus, named John Garlick a
member of the Probus Club of Ewell, as the Borough's Active Citizen for 2005
when he presented him with the award at the Mayor's reception recently.
John Garlick, who is the fifth recipient of the award, has lived in the
borough for over 33 years and has spent considerable time as a voluntary
helper with numerous activities since his retirement some 11 years ago. The
Mayor explained that as a retired Finance Director, John Garlick had been a
very able Treasurer of numerous charities including Age Concern, the Crime
Prevention Panel and the Friends of Nonsuch and is still undertaking the
similar work now for the Council for Voluntary Service, The Burma Star
Association and the Mayor's Charity Committee. Currently, plus auditing the
Probus Club of Ewell's accounts. John Garlick is engaged in supporting the
'Kids Club' based at West Ewell Infants School, where experienced volunteers
provide a safe and fun after school environment for little children between
the ages of 5 and 8 years.
When presented with his Active Citizen medallion with green and gold ribbons
in the Borough's colours and a framed certificate, John Garlick said, "
Epsom & Ewell has a strong band of volunteers. I am privileged to be one of
them. We cover a wide spectrum of the charity field and it would be true to
say that we have all been 'Active Citizens'. We enjoy the work and are
grateful for the support and encouragement that we receive from our
Councillors and Council Officers. Indeed many of whom work with us in their
spare time.
"It has given me great pride and pleasure to receive the Active Citizen
Award from the Mayor. This was totally unexpected and was presented in such
a charming and pleasant way with a beautiful bouquet for my wife, Doris in
recognition that she gives me so much support."
John Garlick told the Mayor, "Your own fund raising committee meets
regularly with you and the Mayoress to plan events that result not only in
raising funds but also in providing enjoyable activities that help to bring
the services of your chosen charities - St John Ambulance and Alzheimer's
Society - to the notice of our residents. Your charity committee is typical
of many of the charities in Epsom and Ewell.
Thank you Mr Mayor for my award. I
will cherish it always. "
Councillor Eber Kington established the
Active Citizen Award, when he was Mayor in 1999/2000 and since this time all
mayors have continued to present the award. At the time he suggested that
the recipient of this award must normally, have:
· Undertaken voluntary service over a
number of years
· Undertaken voluntary service over a range of organisations,
activities or interests
· Given service across a range of activities
· Been involved with grassroots activities, not all at the highest
level of organisational activity
· In addition, recipients of the Active Citizen Award may have
undertaken their activities whilst facing their own personal
challenge.
ProBus
Club of Ewell 
