Birstall’s new officers
BIRSTALL HAS a new beat officer, PC Jamie
Hughes.
Jamie (28) joined the Police in 2002 and for the last two years
has worked as a General Duty Officer at Syston - Birstall is
his first beat.
PC Jamie Hughes
He said: “I’m trying to meet as many people as possible.
I’ve been introducing myself to businesses on Sibson Road,
Parish Councillors and the Neighbourhood Watch. Birstall has
a very strong Neighbourhood Watch which is of great benefit to
the Police.”
He added: “Policing in Birstall will have a community based
approach. It’s important to be approachable and sensitive
to the needs of the community. I know anti social behaviour is
an issue, especially on the parks and having worked in Birstall
before I know a lot of the youths.
Jamie, who was born in Cyprus and lived for a while in Hong Kong,
has one of the highest arrest rates at the Syston Station.
An offer by Birstall Parish Council to allow the Police to use
their old office at 10 Sibson Road has been welcomed by Jamie.
He said: “It will be great for myself and CSO Mark Butler
to have a base in Birstall. Even when we are doing paperwork
we can be here in the village and it will be easier for the public
to contact us. It may also be possible to organise a surgery
there.”
To leave a message for Jamie Hughes dial 2485675 and enter 0826
when prompted.
FOR THE first time Birstall has its own Police
Community Support Officer who will join Police Constable Jamie
Hughes on the Birstall beat.
PCSO Mark Butler dropped into the office of the Birstall Post
on his first day on duty, having been called to Stonehill School
to move on some trespassing skateboarders.
PCSO Mark Butler
Mark (48) is married with an eight year old son and knows Birstall
well. He has been in the Air Cadets for 35 years and is now a
part time warrant officer in the ATC. He said: “I have a
lot of experience working with young people in the 13 to 20 age
group. It’s important to treat them with respect, to treat
them as people.”
Mark has just completed his PCSO training, for the last four
years he worked as a mechanic and MOT tester at a Mountsorrel
garage, but has always harboured an ambition to work for the
Police. He plans to stay in Birstall for some time. “It
will take a couple of years to establish good links with the
community, and I hope to remain in Birstall for several years,
for the foreseeable future” he said.
Mark said that during the day he will be in Birstall, operations
permitting. The night shift is from 1-10pm, with the first four
hours in Birstall and 6-10pm doubled up with another PCSO when
he could be in a neighbouring village.
He said: “Working alongside Jamie Hughes, I hope to help
the community become a safer place to live.”
To leave a message for Mark Butler, dial 2485675 and enter 6611
when prompted.
No side waste
BAGS OF rubbish left at the side of your
wheelie bin will no longer be collected when Charnwood roll out
their ‘no side waste’ policy across the Borough.
A pilot scheme enforcing the policy has already started on Swithland
Lane, Rothley and on Loughborough Road, Birstall.
The Council says that most waste is recyclable and if householders
take care to separate out their recyclable waste there will be
enough space in their wheelie bins without having to leave extra
bags of rubbish.
A council spokesman said: “The aim of the pilot scheme is
to assess the extent of the problem of households leaving extra
waste at the side of the wheelie bins and to start to educate
households on this element of the recycling scheme. The pilot
will put us in touch with any households that may be struggling
with the new service for whatever reason and enable us to help
them. The results of the pilot will help us to determine how
we introduce the enforcement of a no side waste policy across
the Borough, depending on how much of a problem is uncovered.”
D Day veteran honoured
Pic: Fred Sharpe holding the stones he collected
from Sword Beach
A D Day veteran from Wanlip made an emotional
return to the beaches of Northern France for the first time since
1944 and was the guest of honour at a special reception held
in Caen.
Fred Sharpe of Church Road, Wanlip and has wife Dorothy travelled
to France as part of the D Day anniversary on June 6.
Fred (86) was called up in 1939 and joined the Royal Norfolk
Infantry before volunteering for the military police in 1940.
In the run up to D Day, Fred’s unit was in Scotland training
for wet landings and on June 5, Lance Corporal Fred Sharpe set
sail from Portsmouth, part of the largest invasion force in history
that liberated Europe and helped to end the war.
Pic Fred on Sword Beach, June 2005
On the morning of D Day, June 6 1944, Fred was in the third wave
of troops to jump from their boats and make their way up Sword
beach, near Caen, all the while under enemy fire.
Fred said: “I didn’t feel frightened because we were
all so keyed up, I had my friends with me and I had been sick
on the boat and was desperate to get off it!
“The Commandos and Marines were in the first wave and they
had taken a lot of enemy machine gun positions but the beaches
were still being shelled. I jumped from my boat and was up to
my neck in water with all my kit on and I couldn’t swim.
As I got onto the beach an enemy aircraft flew over and dropped
a bomb, but I took cover behind a knocked out flail tank which
took the blast. I looked on as our ships shot down the plane.”
Pic: Fred en route to Berlin, 1944
In the days that followed, Fred was on point duty, assisting
the movement of men and machines inland and dealing with soldiers
who had got separated from their units.
Fred said: “I remember one French farmer who took us into
his home and shared a bottle of delicious red wine with us.”
Fierce German resistance slowed the progress of the invasion
and it was early July before the Allies reached Caen, 12 miles
from the beach. Fred said: “One of my jobs there was to
guard two enormous vats of wine, one red and one white, and stop
the troops from having them as they were for the civilian population.
But Frenchmen would come and fill jerry cans and share it with
our boys.”
Pic: Laying flowers on the grave of his friend
John Thomson
Fred was with the 245 Provost Company, Military Police, and stayed
with the Allied invasion force as it moved east through France
and Germany finally reaching Berlin from where he was demobbed
in 1946.
He said: “Looking back, I only remember the happy times,
my mates, visiting new places and all the travelling about. I’m
glad I want through it.”
One sad memory was the loss of his friend John Thomson, who was
fatally injured on D Day dying two days later.
Fred and Dorothy’s neighbours for 20 years, Ian and Pauline
Harrison, encouraged the couple to attend this June’s commemoration
in France, organising passports, travel arrangements and accompanying
the couple on the trip. “They have been absolutely wonderful
and we are so grateful to them” said Fred and Dorothy.
Pic: Fred with his neighbours Ian and Pauline
Harrison, who arranged the trip
On June 6, Fred and Dorothy attended a memorial service in Caen
along with other D Day veterans to remember the sacrifice of
the troops as well as the thousands of French civilians of Caen
who lost their lives.
After the service, the couple were invited to the Town Hall in
Caen, where a lavish reception had been laid out in the banqueting
hall. Fred said: “It was all such a surprise, the mayor
of Caen was there, the Commander of the 3rd Infantry Division,
the Mayor of Portsmouth and there was a speech about me, how
do they know all this I was thinking and of course it was all
Ian and Pauline, they had arranged it.
“It was very emotional, very moving and when the speech
was over there was a big round of applause. I had tears in my
eyes.”
Fred and Dorothy were both presented with medals.
While he was there, Fred visited Sword beach again. He said:
“It was very humbling and it was difficult to take it all
in.” He picked up three stones from the beach which sit
beside the fire in his Wanlip home. “If only they could
speak, what a tale those stones could tell” said Dorothy.
Forties flavour at GCR weekend
Pic: Birstall GCR staff (l-r) Brian Rowe,
Kathleen Roe, Ann Abell, Station Master Bruce Smith, John Muddimer
and John Casingena
THE GCR staged a World War II re-enactment
weekend in June.
‘Operation Victory’ turned back the clock to 1945 with
an action packed event that saw Birstall station under German
control and the French resistance engaging them in a firefight.
Military vehicles, a Land Army display and soldiers and civilians
in authentic costumes lent the weekend an authentic air, with
activities staged at Loughborough, Quorn, Woodhouse and Rothley.
Pic: German Military Police at Birstall Station,
from the Feldgendarmerie 39-45 Living History Re-enactment group.
County talent
Pic: Andy Corbett, Ben Drake, Yash Thakra,
George Corbett and Rob Drake
THREE JUNIORS from Birstall Village Cricket
club have been picked to play for Leicestershire at the under
9 level.
The three boys, Ben Drake (8), Yash Thakra (8) and George Corbett
(9), started playing cricket for the club four years ago.
Junior Co-ordinator Andy Corbett said: “The boys have done
really well. They have been having trials all through the winter
and are in for an exciting time with matches against Surrey,
Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and Essex. They are only young
but already have a great future ahead of them. If they keep listening
and learning they could go a long way in the game. A lot of big
clubs have shown an interest already”.
Head Coach Rob Drake added: “I’m really proud of what
is being achieved at Birstall at the moment. These lads have
proved that you only get out what you put in, they have trained
all winter and spring and deserve their success”.
George Corbett is a solid right handed batsman and medium fast
left arm bowler who can also bowl spin.
Ben Drake is a right arm medium fast bowler and an exciting attacking
middle order batsman.
Yash Thakrar is the fastest right arm bowler in Leicestershire
for his age and is always looking for the big hits when batting
and runs are needed.
Methodist news
Garden Trail
The Garden Trail, over the weekend of July 11 & 12, was once
again a great success. Over 1,000 people visited the gardens
over the two days. That figure is slightly less than the number
of visitors last year. The gardens were very varied, all showing
the creative skills of the owners. The church is grateful to
those owners who kindly opened their gardens for the popular
village event.
Although the numbers were down slightly, the financial result
was even better than 2004. The total raised was £3,600
which is £400 more than in 2004. The difference is due
to the increased price of the passport.
The proceeds will go towards church funds and the Wishes4kids
organisation, which provide funds for special events for children
who have some trauma or serious illness.
Birstall Gala
There will be an open air service at the start of the Gala on
Sunday July 3 at 10am, and no service at the Methodist Church
on that morning.
Kids Holiday Club
There will be a week of activities for young people, running
from August 8-12. This is a joint venture with St James.
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