104 Year Old Shrieval Legacy Donated to Surrey Heritage

 

104 year ago the High Sheriff of Surrey was an inspirational and caring man from Merrow, John St Loe Strachey. At the beginning of WW1, amidst all of the fervent patriotism, John recognised the need for some means of self identification for those young men who attempted to sign up in the armed forces, but were deemed unfit for whatever reason. He created a badge, ‘The Strachey Willing Badge’, for those individuals to wear with pride. Only one such badge was known to still exist before the recent discovery on farmland in Send by a local detector, Steve Benedict, working under the guidance of Andy Jones, who discovered a second. In a perfect example of timely public-spiritedness, Andy (second right) yesterday donated this badge to Surrey Heritage. It was a privilege as the 797th named High Sheriff of Surrey, to accept this wonderful example of the generosity of spirit of past High Sheriff John St Loe Strachey. More details of this incredible find in a few days!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surrey Care Awards 2018

Surrey Care Association Chairman, David Holmes, and CEO, Erica Lockhart, welcomed over 400 enthusiastic members, supporters and, most importantly, worthy Nominees to the 10th Annual Awards Ceremony, held at Epsom Downs Racecourse. The Awards recognise the outstanding dedication of individuals and teams working in adult social care, and were hosted by famous radio personalities, David (‘Diddy’ – a nickname bestowed by no less than Ken Dodd, David explained!) Hamilton and the lovely Sylvie Blackmore, from BBC Surrey. Sylvie had literally just accepted a marriage proposal, so wild celebrations were certainly the order of the day! Delighted to have been able to help present the Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution To Social Care’ to the irrepressible Michael Gains, our friend from Cedar Court;

 A great evening with some wonderful, caring people – as was constantly emphasised during the celebrations, every nominee was a true winners!   

 

A Special Remembrance Service At Surrey Police HQ

A very special Remembrance Service was held today at Mount Browne, where a plaque was dedicated to three men who had been police officers in the Guildford Borough Police and who lost their lives in WW1 whilst serving in the Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards. At that time there were three police forces in the county, and whilst the 15 officers in the then Surrey Constabulary who fell are all remembered on a plaque at HQ, this was the first opportunity to recognise the three officers from Guildford Borough Police. The Service was opened by DCC Gavin Stephens, and the Deputy Lord Lieutenant Major General Tim Sulivan delivered a moving address. All present were particularly grateful to the PCC, David Munro, and Chief Constable, Nick Ephgrave, for providing this unique opportunity, and to Phil Bradman and Sarah Best from Surrey History Centre, for their extensive research into the military careers of the three officers;

 

PC 14 William George DEACON

PC 20 Sidney Charles MACEY

PC 23 Henry John GASCOYNE DCM 

 

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

GASP Awards Hosted By McLaren

Once again, the incredible McLaren campus was the venue for the GASP Awards Presentation Event 2018, held amongst the famous F1 cars in the McLaren Technology Centre – many thanks to Michael Edgecombe, Group Director, Brand Experience, for his kind hospitality. GASP Chair, Sally Varah, and CEO, Henry Curwen, welcomed supporters, friends, family members and, most important of all, the 18 inspirational young Award Winners. Keep watching Twitter for the formal pics!

Michael More-Molyneux, HM Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, is also proud to be President of GASP and presented the prestigious GASP Ambassador Award during the evening. The GASP Motor Project has inspired 246 students at over 500 day/evening sessions throughout the last year, and continues to make huge differences to young lives across Surrey. Just listing the names of some of the Awards speaks volumes about the challenges that these young people face every day;  ‘Group Achievement’; ‘Total Engagement’; ‘Personal Development’; ‘Perseverance’; ‘Commitment & Resilience’; ‘Enthusiasm to Learn’; ‘Positive Attitude to Learning’; ‘Role Model’ and ‘Peer Mentoring’. This is an exceptional charity, well worthy of our collective support!

 

School Assembly at 'Outstanding' Wood Street Infant School

A great privilege to be invited by Year R Teacher, Melanie Gordon, and Head Teacher, Jan Washer (right) to speak to the school assembly and then visit the three classes to answer the many impressive questions that sprang to mind amongst the pupils!

I was delighted to find four willing volunteers to join us for the photo. Ofsted consider that this successful local school is a key part of the local community, is strongly supported by parents and staff, and benefits from exceptional leadership – ‘Outstanding’ indeed!

 

'Happy Diwali' From Elmbridge!

Mayor Of Elmbridge, Shweta Kapadia, enthusiastically supported by Ramesh, welcomed an expectant full-house to her Charity Diwali Ball last night. It was a marvellous occasion, and to quote one of the civic dignitaries ‘wonderfully different!’. Our first Diwali celebration was unforgettable, but more importantly a huge success for the Mayor’s Charity, Elmbridge Rentstart, whose objective of ensuring that no-one sleeps rough in Elmbridge, inspired all present to contribute their full support.

 

 

St Piers – A Very Special School Indeed!

Many thanks to Cllr Lesley Steeds for arranging this opportunity to visit the amazing St Piers School, and to meet the inspirational Principal, Richard Gargon. The school was built by the Young Epilepsy charity on their Lingfield campus in 2016, with the help of Surrey County Council and the many philanthropic ‘STARS’ on the above wall. What an asset for Surrey and to all of those young people who are able to fully utilise the specialist facilities! Can’t wait for my next visit when I will be introduced to the St Piers College and to all of the talented students. In the meantime, our gratitude to Olya, Head Teacher, for inviting us to the Friday assembly – I haven’t sung so much for ages!

 

'Safe Drive Stay Alive' – A Stunning 13th Year

Dorking Halls was packed today with sixth formers from across Surrey as they experienced another powerful performance from the SDSA team. During this 13th year in Surrey, SDSA will be attended by 12,000 students over the 19 sessions. The impressive partnership between Surrey Fire & Rescue; the Highways team at Surrey County Council; Surrey Police; South East Ambulance Service and the professionals from St George’s and Frimley Park hospitals ensures a truly unforgettable experience for all present. The volunteers are outstanding, and the six speakers from today’s performance deserve special mention; from left to right – Rowan, Abi, Simon, Trevor, Lesley, Kevin and Magda. Such bravery and commitment – everyone in Surrey is proud of you! 

 

  

Inspirational Visit to Coram Campus

 Lady Louise O’Connor (left) and Lady Hamilton of Dalzell (second right), organised a most welcome opportunity to meet with Carol Homden, CEO, and Harriet Gill, MD Education & Wellbeing (centre) at Coram to learn more about this wonderful charity, founded 350 years ago by the philanthropist Thomas Coram (above). The Coram Life Education arm is now supporting over 40 primary schools and 14,000 pupils across Surrey, and we were fortunate to be joined by Ray Morgan, CEO, Woking Borough Council (right), a long-time champion of Life Education in schools across his Borough. 

 

Insight Into Staines Magistrates Court

Sincere thanks to 20-year veteran John Small, Deputy Bench Chair, and even more experienced Legal Team Manager, Ruth Goodger, for their invaluable introduction to daily life at Staines Magistrates Court, one of two such locations within our county. It is often forgotten that the 180 magistrates across Surrey, such as John, are volunteers and perform critical roles within the much-respected British legal system. Magistrates face the same levels of substantial change in terms of digital reform, and both John and Ruth see many possibilities for making the tried and tested legal processes and procedures, even more efficient. Much more use will soon be made of video-links between the police, court and prison systems, saving much time, stress and resources for all involved. All criminal cases brought before the courts begin life in the Magistrates Court, and the recruitment and development of our volunteer magistrates is of critical importance. John and Ruth agree that developing awareness of our unique court system amongst the public (particularly new generations of schoolchildren) and encouraging diversity amongst applicants for the Bench, are two key areas of focus.