We are advised that there will be a national 2 minutes silence to mark the 100th year anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme.
At 7.28am the East Grinstead branch of the Royal British Leagion will blow three blasts on a whistle at the High Street War Memorial (the signal to “go over the top”) – this will be followed by 2 minutes silence.
The Town Mayor and Clerk will be in attendance, all are invited to pause and reflect
Town Mayor Cllr Bob Mainstone attended Sackville School on 27th June to present the year 7 achievement awards. The number of awards was so large, for the first time year 7s had their own ceremony, formerly they have been joined with year 8 who had theirs earlier in the day.
Additionally 8 young directors were appointed to assist with the day to day responsibility of running the on-site observatory (which was installed in 2012).
And two students won awards as Young Engineer of the year, two students who show much promise for a career in engineering. Year 7 students are the first year of the Sackville High School and Julian Grant Head Teacher said how impressive as a year this year 7 have been. He looks forward to seeing what greater achievements they will make as they continue through the school.
Mr Bush and Mr Treen (Head of Science and Technology respectively) were delighted with the number of achievers and the high quality of work demonstrated.
Additionally Nick Barham (year 10) was awarded the Sir Patrick Moore award for outstanding achievement in Astronomy. The award which was introduced following the death of Sir Patrick Moore is sponsored by East Grinstead Town Council. Town Clerk Julie Holden was also in attendance for the presentation. Nick and his family will be guests of the Town Mayor at the Council meeting on Monday 4th July when he will speak about his project which won accolades at the NEC Big Bang Fair in March.
Town Mayor Cllr Mainstone said “This is such a fantastic opportunity to be able to see the enthusiasm and talent that the students bring to their studies. Sackville has a wonderful legacy of excellence in science and technology which is encouraging for the future of our Country’s engineers and scientists. I was very proud to be able to present these awards today”.
Cllr Bob Mainstone was invited with other guests to view the final stages of the Standen Garden Revival Project.
Ten years ago a swimming pool was discovered while clearing some overgrown bamboo in the Rosary. The discovery led to a major £500,000 project to reveal more of the garden’s secrets. Through researching Margaret Beale’s garden diaries, old photos and maps, it has been possible to piece together how the garden would have looked in the 1920’s heyday.
Bob and Mayoress Cllr Christine Mainstone were guided around the project by Susan Hodgson (Friend of Standen)
Bob commented, “The Town Council have always supported Standen as one of the gems of East Grinstead. We are very proud of the wonderful way the National Trust have brought this local treasure to life and welcomed the public to come and explore. Now the gardens are an attraction as well as the house I am sure many more visitors will want to see the amazing developments that have taken place. I encourage local residents to go and see the Garden Revival Project.”
Photo shows: Town Mayor Cllr Bob Mainstone and Mayoress Cllr Christine Mainstone with Susan Hodgson (right) and members of the Town Council staff who visited the Garden revival project
The East Grinstead Town Council is aware of a petition demanding that the Council stop using weedkillers which include Glyphosate. The petition says that the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that toxic glyphosate chemicals are “probably carciogenic”.
The Joint FAO/WHO meeting on Pesticide Residues which met in Geneva between 9 and 13 May 2016 issued a summary report dated 16 May 2016 which states “the meeting concluded that glyphosate is unlikely to pose carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through diet.”
The full report referring to the tests, studies, conclusions and are available at www.who.int.
The weedkillers that the Council use are lower grade than many off the shelf weedkillers, Monsanto Roundup is a weedkiller that is used by the Council and contains Glyphosate. It is registered for use in the UK at this time and remains in use at the East Grinstead Town Council, should the registration or WHO opinion change this will be reviewed.
Town Mayor Cllr Bob Mainstone visited three local Care homes to show support to National Care Home Day. On the 17 June the Mayor was invited to Knowle House in Lingfield Road and Horncastle House in Sharpthorne. The following day he visited Millview Care Home in Sunnyside Close.
The theme of the day was “celebration” and each of the homes decided to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday with tea parties, activities and entertainment. The idea was to highlight to the local community what role the care homes have in society.
The Mayor accompanied by the Mayoress Cllr Christine Mainstone had the opportunity to chat with residents, staff and relatives and to join in with the parties.
Bob commented, “It was important to be part of National Care Home Day to support the wonderful work that goes on in our local homes. The staff work so hard to make sure the residents are well cared for and stimulated with varied activities. It was very special to have a chat with relatives and hear their stories of their loved ones. I now have a greater understanding of the important role Care Homes have in our town”
Knowle House, Lingfield Road, EG
l to r Sandy Siva (Owner) , Tania Carter (West Sussex Care and business support team), Cllr Christine Mainstone (Mayoress), Cllr Bob Mainstone (Town mayor), Binoy John (Manager)
Horncastle Care Home, Sharpthorne
Town Mayor and Mayoress with staff and members of the “royal family”!
Millview Care Home, EG
l to r Cllr christine Mainstone (Mayoress), Cllr Bob Mainstone (Town Mayor), Cindy Luscombe (manager), Amy Pepperrell (Client Relations Manager)
A new illustrated street sign, complete with maps and packed with information about the town, is now in place adjacent to the mainline rail station and the bus interchange.
It is aimed at helping visitors to East Grinstead find their way from the station to the historic town centre. The sign has been jointly financed by the East Grinstead Town Council and East Grinstead Business Association, and was part of a discussion between these two groups and the East Grinstead Project about improving signage and making the station area more informative and welcoming to visitors.
Stuart Scholes, the CEO of the East Grinstead Business Association said. “It points out the various attractions along the way and will be the start of the station to statue signed directions that we hope to put in place.”
Town Clerk Julie Holden added. “This is just the first part of a long-standing ambition to enhance our visitors’ arrival in the town. We have had some great support from all parts of the community to make this happen.”
The sign’s location is designed to attract attention not only from bus and Network Rail passengers, but also those arriving on the Bluebell Rail from their adjacent station.
Station to Statue, the title of the project will enable visitors to make their way from the station quarter via Railway Approach, and London Road up to the historic High Street and the statue of Sir Archibald McIndoe.
Celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday with celebratory tea, music and introduction of the heritage project.
450 people attended on 10 June
Town Mayor and Mayoress attended
Photo shows (l to r) Val Upton (Vice Chair MSOPC), Town mayor, Anita Wright (MSOPC Development Officer)
This is a photo taken of the Garden Party in the Deanery Garden following the evensong service in the Cathedral to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday.
Attended by Cllr Bob Mainstone (Town Mayor) and Cllr Christine Mainstone (Mayoress)
Both High Sheriffs of East and West Sussex and both Lord lieutenants in attendance
The Town mayor made the visit to Chichester following his Civic Service at St Swithuns in the morning.
Jonathan Ansley our Outdoor Services Supervisor, sucessfully completed this year’s Southdowns Trekathon rasing money for the Royal Marsden Hospital. Jonathan, seen here in the centre of the photo, together with his best mate James Averell raised £800 on behalf of his grandson Sebastian, who has just finished his last course of chemotherapy. A familar face around the town and mosty spotted wearing his boots, Jonathan told us “The Trek was hard going, particularly the last seven miles which was over the Seven Sisters! In the end, out of 92 people walking, there were only seven ahead of us at the finish! Now that is showing off!”
At the going down of the setting of the sun and in the morning, we shall remember them
On Thursday 30 June East Grinstead Town Council will mark the centenary of the Battle of Boars Head (The Day Sussex Died) by lighting a candle to burn for the 5 hours of the battle.
The Town Mayor (Cllr Bob Mainstone) will light a candle at 3.05am (the exact moment the regiment went “over the top” and leave it lit through to 8.00 am when we shall then lay a wreath in remembrance. The candle will be extinguished at 8.05am The Council are organising this with the local branch of the Royal British Legion and they along with the Town Mayor will lay a wreath. The East Grinstead branch of the Royal British Legion are posting an honour guard from 7 am for the last hour of the candle burning, The Town Mayor and Clerk along with representatives of the RBL will also be in attendance from 7am onwards. We feel this will be a fitting and solemn tribute to the men from Sussex who lost their lives on that day 100 years ago.
We will temporarily hold the High St traffic for a 1 minute silence at 8.00 and trust that commuters appreciate and join with us in the solemnity of the moment.
Town Mayor Cllr Bob Mainstone said “This is our version of an everlasting flame, burning for each minute of the battle 100 years ago. It is hard to envisage how devastating that battle was for this county, 12 sets of brothers were killed, local families would have been directly affected or known those who were much more than today as population and transience was much less back then. A solemn day for us as we remember the sacrifice”
The Council is placing a candle at the High St War Memorial at 3.05 am and it will be joined by an honour guard at 7.00. At 8.00 wreaths will be laid and at 8.05 the candle extinguished but they will remain there all day along with a sign to explain the significance.
The Battle of Boards Head, Richebourg, France was a diversionary tactic prior to the Battle of the Somme which started on 1 July 1916. On the first day of the Somme nearly 20,000 were killed.
The Sussex Regiment like many others were “pals” regiments where men from the same villages and towns were placed, therefore heavy losses would be felt keenly in a small geography.
The Sussex Regiment was disbanded in 1966 and today forms part of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires).