STOKE UPON TERN
NEWSLETTER Issue: 17
IN THIS ISSUE
Parish Council Updates, Local Business Advertisements, Community News, Updates from the Parish, Stories from our community, Featured recipe, and much more.....
Keeping in touch with communities within the local parish. December 2017
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Welcome to this winter edition of our parish magazine. As a reminder the parish covers five rural villages, Stoke upon Tern, Stoke Heath, Wistanswick, Eaton-upon-Tern and Ollerton.
Please feel free to send us any news or articles from around the parish. To contact us: email: [email protected] or call Sue: 01630 638 348
COUNCIL MEMBERS - The next parish meetings will take place at the Parish Hall on the th, th th Cllr Pete Waters (Chairman) - 01630 638911 Dec 13 Jan 24 & March 14 Cllr Richard Wright – 01630 638520 @7.30pm
Cllr Phil Butters – 07976 295299 These meetings are open Cllr David Moore – 01630 685226 There are still x2 to everyone – Cllr Keith Newby – 01952 541601 vacancies on the come along and
Cllr Sue Bartram – 01630 638348 Parish Council – have your say...
Cllr Sarah Planton – 01630 638494 anyone interested Agendas are
Cllr Percy Farmer - 01952 541252 please contact the posted on the
clerk notice –boards The Clerk Mr Graham Bould may be contacted in local bus at: [email protected], or: parish website: shelters. www.stokeuponternparish.org.uk
The Tractor Club
Meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm at the Parish Hall
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Community Champions – what’s that all about then? The Parish Council started some conversations with a number of groups and individuals back in the summer of 2016 to explore several ideas to improve the environment and neighbourliness around Parishioners homes. This conversation was backed up with about four and half thousand pounds of external grants which the Parish Council had secured from a variety of funders to improve local roads and build community capacity within local settlements. So, the idea of having local people acting as ‘Champions’ started to grow. The story so far then. A draft pilot agreement between groups and the Parish Council has been developed under three broad headings:
• Things to do four times a year – like litter picking, cleaning road signs, mowing/strimming verges, pulling and disposing of ragwort and keeping the tops of gullies clear of debris for example. • Things to do twice a year – keep phone boxes and bus shelters clean and tidy for example. • Added value during the year – a community project with trainees from the RAF, undertake a ‘good neighbours’ project, keep notice boards up to date, plant up gateways and verges with bulbs and wild flower seeds, help deliver the Parish Newsletter and help with consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan for example.
The Parish Council has again for the second year running secured external grants to continue the pilot scheme and to develop a fourth group, Community Champion groups already exist at Dutton Close, Eaton upon Tern and Wistanswick and their programme has been extended. If you and your neighbours would like to look at developing a group, or your organisation is looking for a community challenge please contact the Clerk (details below) for more details and to receive information on the amount of funding that is available to help develop the idea. The Parish Council is particularly interested in hearing from Parishioners and groups covering and living in the settlements of Tern Hill, Stoke Heath, Stoke on Tern and Ollerton.
The idea has Parish Council support to develop a Lottery Programme to follow on from the pilot programmes that will also look to link with the Market Drayton group of the Wildlife Trust to develop more environmental volunteering across the Parish as a whole; so existing Champions will be undertaking some survey activity within their localities to seek more ideas for that lottery programme which could be in the region of ten thousand pounds to spend on developing activity if the application is successful.
Graham Bould Clerk to Stoke upon Tern Parish Council Contact details are by email at [email protected], phone/text 07792300702 or landline 01952-594758
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Wistanswick Update
Wistanswick Champs Is a group of people who are funded by the Parish Council to try to make Wistanswick a pleasanter place to live. For example you may soon see two flower boxes, one at each end of the village to be planted up and maintained by local residents.
The litter picking team are regularly keeping their "patch" clear of litter. Would you help by taking a picker and hoop and caring for your nearby patch? The defibrillator is getting nearer, prices are being investigated. It is proposed to site it at the Institute.
Thank you for all those people who helped in any way. Any ideas for improvements to our village? Please contact Helen Carr or Richard Wright.
SAVE THE DATE Children’s Christmas party on December 15th. At the Institute.
Wistanswick bonfire was a great success. The fireworks were spectacular, thanks Simon. The food was plentiful and well over 200 people, especially children enjoyed themselves on the Institute field.
Wistanswick Broadband Update – Richard Wright
On Friday November the 10th there was a meeting to discuss the lack of progress in upgrading the broadband service in Wistanswick. At the meeting we had Owen Paterson MP and Clive Selley, the Chief Exec of Openreach, plus 2 others from the commissioning side of Openreach. From the community there were 6 representatives of local businesses, all of whom have significant issues that directly impact their business operations; also in attendance were 2 representatives from Shropshire Council, and me.
The outcome was mixed; we were assured that 90 premises would get an enhanced service of more than 24 mbps, a further 20 between 15 & 24 mbps, and for the rest, typically the TF9 2BB postcode, the service delivery was uncertain, they “would come back to me”.
It was agreed that the exercise would be expedited by Openreach, their problem in commissioning the cabinet on the A41 being power delivery from Western Power, currently projected not to start until mid-December, they were sent away to bring this forward.
So, in summary, the outcome was generally positive with some caveats; the next actions to review the implementation in January, bring any issues to Owen Pat erson’s attention.
Many thanks to those who attended, those who gave me case studies and all those who wanted to get involved. 4
YOUR PARISH NEEDS YOU – STOKE UPON TERN HAS TWO VACANCIES.
What does a Parish Councillor do? Councillors represent the electors in their Parish. They are accessible to residents to listen to their concerns and to deal with them or to pass them for action to the appropriate authorities directly or via the Parish Clerk.
Councillors may represent the Council on local bodies and in meetings with other authorities. They help formulate responses to county or national consultations when relevant local issues are involved such as keeping the local phone box for example.
Councillors can provide leadership on local initiatives. In Stoke upon Tern Parish Council there is a group who organise and edit the local newsletter, are developing the areas Neighbourhood Plan, look at planning applications from Shropshire, look at value for money and audit matters and are developing an extension to the cemetery.
The championing of local projects and providing leadership over local issues is an important, and rewarding, aspect of a councillor’s role. Persistence in dealing with the authorities and utilities is an essential virtue. In everything they do, councillors need to bring integrity and common sense to their approach and look for viable, pragmatic outcomes that can be achieved. All this work involves time, of course. Meetings have to be attended. Planning applications and other documents have to be reviewed. The work load varies, but an average weekly estimate of 3–5 hours would be reasonable. In return is the immense satisfaction of putting something back into the community.
Councillors have substantial support in performing their duties. First of all there is the Parish Clerk. This is a paid position, and provides an experienced person to look after the administration of the council as well as to be on hand to offer advice and guidance to the councillors. Training is available to the new councillor which is of high quality and covers all aspects of the role. The Council acts very much as a team and fellow councillors are always there to support each other. INTERESTED? WANT MORE INFORMATION BEFORE COMMITTING? THEN VISIT http://www.nalc.gov.uk/library/publications/801-good- councillors-guide/file,
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THE ROLE OF GALLANTRY HILL, STOKE HEATH IN WORLD WAR TWO
The altitude of Gallantry Hill is 83 metres (273 ft) compared to Chapel Lane at 74 metres resulting in it being a useful local vantage point. A ring of four anti-aircraft (AA) guns were set up to protect Tern Hill airfield after its major reconstruction in 1938/39 and the subsequent outbreak of World War Two (WW2). One of the four AA Guns was situated on Gallantry Hill and manned by a Royal Artillery gun crew billeted in the barrack behind the hill. The remains of the toilet block were demolished in 1991 and the barrack in Poor House Lane became a farm building some time ago. An ext ensive barbed wire system was installed around the hill as a barrier to attack by infantry. The Bofors gun was set into the level summit of the hill on timber supports next to the sandbagged dugout. The late Jim Ward related that the gun arrived late one Saturday night and was dragged across the field from the direction of Chapel House by tracked tractor and up the more sloping side of the hill in Hill House Farm field and then through the fence at the side of the hill.
The locations of the other three AA guns were: • Centre of the field northwest of HMP directly opposite the end of the west - east runway. • In the vicinity of Helshaw Grange where a similar barrack still exists. • In the vicinity of Stoke Grange. To the left is shown a typical Bofors AA gun. The guns were never fired in anger. When the only air raid on the airfield occurred on the 10th of October 1940 by a Junkers JU-88 one of the camp guards fired at the attacking aircraft with his rifle and was allegedly put on a charge for firing without permission. After the main activity in the Battle of Britain ended in October 1940 the enemy turned its attention to the east. Although there were still bomber raids occurring less frequently, notably in Manchester and Liverpool, by the end of 1941 the threat rapidly diminished. By this time Tern Hill had become an aircraft repair station. The development of the legendary Bofors 40mm gun was driven by the increasing pre-war threat of airborne attack. Resulting from this the Swedish armaments company Bofors was tasked with developing a successor to the Royal Navy ‘Pom Pom’ gun of the 1920s to improve the defence of naval vessels against air attack.
By 1934 Bofors had developed a prototype 40mm autocannon capable of firing at a rate of 120 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 853 metres per second and capable of reaching an altitude of 12,500 feet although then the aiming system was very primitive. This development had more than just naval applications. WW2 put pressure on the manufacture of sufficient guns and other companies became involved, notably Chrysler of USA who converted the metric dimensions back to imperial to achieve mass production rates. The more modern smaller bore variations of autocannon fire at rates of up to 450 rounds per minute and can be seen mounted on 4 x 4’s in war zones to the present day. Bofors at the time of writing is part of BAE Systems.
The presence of the gun is recorded in one of the numerous non-combat accidents that occurred during training missions at Tern Hill. One such incident is related by the late Jim Ward who as a school leaver worked at Tern Hill airfield in the original construction workers canteen. Jim also worked at Gallantry House from 1939 onwards during WW2 Jim relates that on the evening of 20th April 1941 he was cycling back home to the Mayfields, Stoke on Tern when a Miles Master One No. T8824 training aircraft took off from the airfield and turned to the left over Stoke on Tern circling around towards Stoke Heath. 6
At the rear of Hill House Farm where the large sheds are now situated there was originally a thatched cottage. Jim relates that the plane lost height, clipped the cottage thatch, demolished the headgear of the garden well and gouged a line out of Gallantry Hill. It then crashed through the hedge and barbed wire defences, narrowly missing the anti-aircraft gun and disintegrated spilling its fuel load. The remains of the unfortunate Belgian pilot (C. J. G. Vandebos - 20years old) were recovered from the garden of Gallantry House. According to records he was originally buried in Market Drayton Cemetery but was later exhumed and re-buried in Belgium in 1949. It appears from other records that he perished on his first solo flight at 2230hrs. Despite double summertime it was dark at that time and the runway lighting comprised of gooseneck paraffin flares. Something unknown caused the pilot to lose height and fail to get back to the runway in the darkness.
In the accident report some doubt is cast on the wisdom of sending the pilot out in a solo plane and not as a solo pilot in the dual trainer aircraft in which he had qualified. Above is shown a typical Miles Master One. Further recollections from David Basford include references to the AA gun and its crew. David was born at Gallantry House and attended school during WW2.
David recalls that the gun crew borrowed his father Fred’s shotgun to supplement their diet with rabbit. He also remembers that one of the gun crew was named Sergeant Matlin. It is believed that the gun was fired accidentally once.
The photograph adjacent shows David in front of the gun crew’s bell tent as a schoolboy aged 6 in 1941.
Acknowledgements: The late Jim Ward, “Wings Across the Border” by Derrick Pratt & Mike Grant, & David Basford. All photographs acknowledged as the copyright of the original photographer.
With special thanks to John Taylor for sending us this fascinating article.
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Thoughts from the Parish
I love living in Wistanswick. We have lived here for 19 years and in that time we have seen a lot of changes. It's a friendly hamlet where everyone speaks, we have a lot more houses now.
What we don't have is pavements. Now, I'm not saying I want those because I could go and live in a town if that was the case but as winter sets in we have very little daylight to walk our beloved dogs.
A black coat and a black dog are certainly a challenge when the good drivers of the area are obeying the speed limit of 30 in the village. Why not buy your gorgeous girl or handsome boy an early Christmas present of something to be seen in? A Hi-Viz jacket, flashing collar or lead, and maybe a Hi-Viz for yourself?
One more note- the grass on Chapel Bank is cut by volunteers to encourage everyone to pick up after their dog. We have a bin for faeces which is emptied by our wonderfully cheerful council worker on a very regular basis. After all, no-one wants to step into anything then walk it into the carpets of the chapel or the village hall.
Have a wonderful happy doggie Christmas. Ca rol (AKA Snoopy's Mum)
Facebook page for Patient Group WALKING
Patient Participation Groups are a requirement FOOTBALL for every medical practice in England. The function of such groups varies according to at Maurice Chandler practice and locality, but one of their aims is to Sports Centre help medical centres communicate with their (Thursdays 4-5 pm) patients about new patient directives such as If you are over 55 and can the flu jab. walk (!) you can play. The new ‘Hodnet Medical Centre Patient No special skill required as Participation Group’ Facebook page has been demonstrated by the created by your local group to provide Hodnet current players.
Medical Practice patients with this type of Every Thursday afternoon information. from 4pm to 5pm, £3 per session. Please ‘Follow’ their page on to keep up to date with the latest health At present our players are all male but there is no awareness information and Hodnet Medical reason why women cannot Centre updates. http://www.hodnet.org.uk join in
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Women’s Institute
The local WI meet at the Wistanswick Institute on the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30 pm.
We offer the opportunity to learn, develop and pass on new skills, to belong to something special, make new friends, work as a team and have fun. Forthcoming Events:
December 5th 2017 : Wistanswick WI Christmas Party at the Tern Hill Hall Hotel
January 9th 2018 : Social evening with Bring and Share, and Auction February 6th 2018 : Les Lacey treating us to some 'Funny Verse'
This Month's Recipe – Sue’s Festive Tiramisu
Ingredients; 4 whole eggs, 8 tbsp. caster sugar 1 wine glass sherry 1 wine glass scotch or brandy 2 pkts. sponge fingers Cocoa powder
740g/1lb 10oz full fat mascarpone
600ml/24fl oz strong sweetened coffee
100g good quality dark chocolate
Method; Beat eggs and sugar with a whisk until pale and frothy. Beat in the mascarpone a spoonful at a time, then the sherry. Place the coffee and brandy in a shallow dish and briefly dip the sponge fingers in. Lay the fingers in the dish trimming to fit the gaps, then spread half of the mascarpone over. Sift cocoa powder over, then another layer of mascarpone.
Chill for at least 6 hours. Serve with the dark chocolate grated on top
Wistanswick United Reform Church Regular chapel services on the 1st & 3rd Sundays of every month at 4.30pm.
Reverend Chris Burgham, Tel. 07976 788543 Secretary; Ms E Dodd, Tel. 01630 655404
We will be having ‘Carols by Candlelight’ on December 17th at 6pm All are welcome to come along!
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OJM Forge Ltd
Oliver J Mitchell FdSc DWCF
PROFESSIONAL
FARRIERY
Relocated to Hinstock
Friendly service
07779 433310
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St. Peters Church, Stoke upon Tern
For information regarding normal times of Church services, please see the Church Notice Board. We are pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Becky Richards as Team Rector of Childs Ercall, Cheswardine, Hales, Hinstock, Sambrook and Stoke on Tern, to replace Rev Andy Ackroyd who moved to Wrockwardine in the summer. Becky will take up the appointment in the New Year.
Christmas at St Peter’s Carol singing in the Red Lion Friday 15th December at 7.00p.m.
Carol and Crib service in church Friday 22nd December at 7.00p.m.
Christmas Eve Christmas Communion at 11.30p.m.
Christmas Dinner with entertainment December 8th, Tickets £12.00 from Jackie Higginson. This is a full 3 course, hot meal. A warm welcome and enjoyable evening assured.
Red Lion Pub –
Wistanswick! You can now find us on: Twitter @WistanswickRedL Facebook TheRedLionWistanswick
3rd December - Decorate the tree 12 noon 5th December - English Folk Music 8.30 15th December - Carol Singing 7.00pm 18th December - Christmas Quiz 9.00pm 12
Stoke on Tern Parish Hall
The Parish Hall, Langley Dale, Stoke on Tern
Chairman Peter Speight
For enquiries contact Jane Lloyd 01630 638 238.
Prize Bingo is played The parish hall committee needs new members every Monday Eyes down at 8pm – to get involved in the running of the hall.
All welcome! If you are interested or would like to know
more please contact Anne Bromley on 0787 6200 932 for more details.
Walking Group
The Walking Group meets on the third Sunday of the month at 11am at the Red Lion pub (& often returns there for refreshment!); Our next walk will be on 17th December, weather permitting.
Please check the website (stokeupontern.info) or call Sue on 01630 638 348 for more information.
All are welcome, so why not come and join us for a stroll across our parish.
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Maurice Chandler Sports Centre
Warrant Road, Stoke Heath Tel: 01630 638508 or Email: infomauricechandler.org.uk
Opening Times are: Mon – Fri 2pm – 10pm & Sat 10am – 2pm
Most activities catered for, see website or call in for a chat!
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Mobile Library The Tern-Stylers Craft Group Rosehill Road We are all craft enthusiasts, be it Buntingsdale Park (by school) TUESDAY THURSDAY knitting, crochet, quilting, etc. etc. th Dig out that project hidden at the back 12 December 11.50 – 12.20 th rd of your cupboard and join us for the 9 & 23 January Wistanswick inspiration to complete it. th th 6 & 20 February (Red Lion) We meet at Wistanswick Institute on the 6th & 20th March 12.30 – 12.45 2nd and 4th Thursday morning Eaton-Upon-Tern (10am 'til 12ish) of the month For more (phone box) and entry is just £2. information call: 14.35 – 14.50 th Next dates are: 14 December 01743 th th 14 December 11 & 25 January 255 024 8th & 22nd February 11 & 25 January th nd 8 & 22 February 8 & 22 March 8 & 22 March
For further information please contact Eleanor Goodwin on 01630 638 701 or email: [email protected]
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The current newsletter committee are; Sue Bartram, Helen Tyler Stoke upon Tern Parish & Marie Speight. Website
'Any views expressed within this In addition to our newsletter, the publication are not necessarily the website can be accessed to views of Stoke upon Tern Parish find out what’s going on in the parish. Council.' Once on the website
Thanks for reading the newsletter, (stokeupontern.info) the various links we hope that you have found it will take you to other pages where you useful and of interest. If you can find out more, would like to get involved in the and get notice of events taking place in your parish. next issues and its production, or have a story or activity to tell us This site is run by a team of volunteers about then please get in touch by: who would the 10th February 2018 like to hear about anything of interest The next newsletter will be in the area.
out in March 2018 If you have any stories or news please email: www.stokeuponternparish.org.uk
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