Please note that Blackwell Hollow will be closed between 9.30am and 3.00pm on Monday 11th May to allow urgent treeworks to be carried out. Diversions will be put in place
HE may only be one month into his year in office, but Town Mayor Nick Hodges is already pretty certain that McIndoe Monday is a day which will rank among the most memorable of his time as East Grinstead’s first citizen.
‘The statue is not just important for all of us as an historic moment in the story of our town,” he said, while awaiting the arrival of Princess Anne. ‘It will also be enjoyed by visitors and by the town’s children for generations to come.’
STUART Scholes of the East Grinstead Business Association, and the man who first conceived the idea of a memorial statue to Sir Archie, said: “After three years of work I am thrilled to see the statue finally unveiled. It is a tribute to McIndoe, but it is also a tribute to the people of the town and a recognition and reminder for future generations of what happened here.”
THERE was a whisper of silk, and a huge cheer – and then the world could see the statue which sculptor Martin Jennings has been working on for more than a year.
It sat perfectly on its golden plinth, and the green shade of the bronze was as calm as the expression on McIndoe’s face as he comforted the young airman in front of him.
For Martin, the wait for the world to see his statue was a difficult one and he says that he can never decide what he thinks about his work until several months after it is finished.
But there was a palpable sense of relief on his face as he chatted to Princess Anne after the unveiling – and he even allowed himself a small joke.
When asked what he thought of his work, now that it was in place, he grinned and said ‘Rubbish!’
[AFG_gallery id=’25’]
Photos copyright Barney Durrant
PRINCESS Anne did the honours at the unveiling of the McIndoe statue outside Sackville College this afternoon in front of an estimated crowd of around 500.
A loud cheer went up as eight Guinea Pigs exited Sackville College after a royal reception, during which the East Grinstead Concert bank played wartime favourites to the waiting crowd.
But it wasn’t just a proud moment for the East Grinstead.
Jenny Watson, the Town Council gardener who cares for the award-winning East Court estate, saw her pretty posy of early summer flowers – gathered from the flower beds behind the Mansion – presented to the Princess.
EAST Court’s gardener Jenny Watson staked her own small claim to history today when she gathered flowers from the East court estate to make a posy fit for a princess.
Among the seasonal blooms bound with raffia were roses, lavender, ivy and cornflowers.
IT’S been two years in the planning, but the joint project by East Grinstead Town Council, the EGBA (East Grinstead Business Association) and the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation to erect a statue to Sir Archibald McIndoe is almost at an end.
Shrouded in tarpaulins, the anonymous-looking triangular shape would have given few clues to anyone travelling behind the flat bed lorry bringing it from the foundry as to what exactly was being transported.
But as it drew into the High Street and stopped outside Sackville College there was little doubt that beneath those dull wrappings was something really rather special.
The statue was briefly exposed as the old wrappings came off, but photographer Barnaby Durrant who took these photos for us didn’t want to spoil the surprise.
So if you want to see the statue in all its glory, then be in the High Street at 2.10pm on McIndoe Monday when Princess Anne will do the honours.
All photographs copyright of Barnaby Durrant
NEWS UPDATE: THE time for the unveiling of the McIndoe memorial statue is now approximately 2.10pm on Monday 9th June.
Please note this is a change from the previously advertised times of 1.15pm and 1.30pm.
EAST Court’s yew hedges have produced 400 kilos of cuttings which will be processed and used for the treatment of patients with cancer.
Limehurst, the company which arranged to have the hedges pruned and weeded, has been involved in producing medical and cosmetic treatments for the past 50 years.
They told the Town Council ‘your hedges at East Grinstead were lovely, and produced a wonderful yield’.
Limehurst are also organizing an on-going programme of rejuvenation to ensure the hedges stay healthy, and they anticipate that eventually the East Court site may yield almost four times as much.
‘Each year we produce hundreds of tonnes of yew clippings with the help of many gardens around England. The treatments tackle various strains including breast, ovarian and small cell lung cancers with many a success story.’
Yew harvesting takes place annually from June to September and Limehurst collects on a daily basis during this period as the clippings need to be as fresh as possible to prevent deterioration of the active compound.
THE High Street flower beds have been planted up to commemorate the centenary of WWI.
The beds have been carefully themed with tributes, which include one to Private Sidney Godley, the first private soldier to win the UK’s highest award For Valour, and the Royal Sussex Regiment.
The wooden barriers draped with barbed wire represent the trenches, and poppies – which became the symbol of the fallen – have been recreated in red flowers.
Unlike many of his comrades in arms, Private Godley, who was born in East Grinstead and is also remembered with a blue plaque on the front of East Court mansion, survived the Great War.
A stone slab will be laid by the High Street War Memorial in his memory on 23 August.
A board by the War Memorial explains the inspiration behind the planting, which has been done by the Town Council.
[AFG_gallery id=’24’]