Contents FROM THE CHAIRMAN From the Chairman 1 All Civic Society activities are on hold. We wish all members well Events and Promotions and hope we can overcome this 2 upheaval. If there are any members who are Civic Society News – self-isolating and require groceries Newsletter Editor Required -5 or medication to be delivered to Outlaw King – the background - 6 their doorstep then they can access the local aid network by contacting either. Recent Talks – WW2 Arctic Convoys - 8 Cllr Anne Forbes - 07827 294221 Role of NCC - 8 Cllr Georgina Hill - 07753749755 Mediaeval Medicine - 10 Update on Barracks Project - 11 Pre this situation, Berwick had embarked on a new phase of developments. Construction was Other Items – underway for the new jetty at End of an Era at Tweedmouth -13 Berwick Port and the new Leisure New Hotel for Berwick -13 Centre, plans submitted for the long-awaited new Hospital and a Women’s Rights - 14 major funding bid through the Covid 19 & Global Warming - 15 Borderlands Growth Initiative for a In Search of my Father’s Story - 17 new theatre, cinema and Sandra’s Berwick Puzzle – 24 conference centre for the Town. We can hope that this progress Office Bearers can be continued, and construction 24 work resumed but, as with so many things, we will have to wait and see. The long-term impacts on the national economy cannot be 1 fully gauged. We cannot know yet War l in 2018, they could not have how this will impact public sector been more wrong. The event in regeneration spending and private 2019 was extremely well supported sector confidence which has been with great generosity. evident in the town recently with housing and other private sector We held our own Main Guard developments such as the recently service on Monday, 11th opened new Premier Inn and the November. As has become Retail Park which was another customary, the Scouts and Cubs construction site about to pop up. led by Paul Marshall and Mayor, Anne Forbes, had placed 651 Ian Dods crosses to commemorate the fallen of Berwick, Tweedmouth and Spittal. Chairman, Ian Dods, was EVENTS AND joined by the Reverend Canon Alan Hughes who conducted the PROMOTIONS service. Major Lance Thornton, KOSB, who read the Exhortation The AGM on the 8th April has had and Piper, Andrew Smith. to be postponed so the present Office-Bearers and Executive As always, we were delighted to Members will stay in place until welcome Longridge Towers Junior such time as they can be re- School and pupil cornet player, elected with perhaps some William Allis gave his best ever additions. Our Vice-Chairman, rendition of the Last Post and John Webster has already Reveille. A poppy wreath was laid indicated that he will retire after the on behalf of the School which was AGM. Great thanks are due to a touching gesture. John for the excellent way he has compiled the bi-annual Afterwards refreshments were Newsletters, managed the website provided in The Main Guard which and set up the Membership was organised by Catherine system. Seymour, Anne Humphrey and Julia Butler to whom we accord To cover the last six months; If thanks. anyone thought there would be a natural dip in interest in Remembrance Sunday after the Centenary of the ending of World 2 Durham or Newcastle University. We hope she will achieve this with the current uncertainty of how exam grades will exactly be awarded. Also, in attendance at the ceremony were teacher co- ordinator, Richard Johnson and Scouts & Cubs Placing Crosses Deputy Head, Steven Gibson. The Christmas Party, which was The Society has sponsored one of also General Election Day !, took the U3A Nature Trail Line Boards. place at Tweedsyde, Castle Unfortunately, the launch party had Terrace. John Meachem and his to be cancelled but they did daughter, Tiffany, had very kindly formally open the Trail which can agreed to hold the event in their be accessed online, and residents lovely, newly refurbished home. can walk through as part of their Everything was arranged one daily exercise, keeping to the beautifully, and torches were lit on current social distancing rules. the outside courtyard. John and This can be accessed via the Tiffany had also provided website; www.tweedandcoast.org. musicians which added to the festive atmosphere. Forty-six attended with a few absences due to illness. The much-enjoyed buffet and wine had been organised by the Dryden family. On 27th February, Ian Dods and Zoreen Hill visited Berwick Academy to present our annual Society Sponsored Nature Board award. The recipient this year was Caitlin Todd who is a very Also included is a photograph of a impressive student who has seat placed on Berwick Pier in carried out a large amount of memory of Alan Faragher who died charitable work, taken part in local on 14th April 2019. musical events as a drummer and represented the county in Sport. Husband of Ann, he was a She is hoping to attend either prominent Berwick personality, a successful businessman, stalwart 3 of the Lifeboat and an active Festivals. The subject of trees is participant in many Civic Society very topical, and Max Adams activities in the past. stressed the vital importance of them for the Global environment and the soil, not just the trees themselves. He writes about the subject in his latest book; "Trees of Life" published by Head of Zeus on 14th November 2019. On January 22nd, Director of Planning at Northumberland County Council, Rob Murfin gave a Alan Faragher Seat well-received talk on planning from a strategic, policy and personal The meeting programme with viewpoint. guest speakers has been extremely interesting, varied and The speaker on the 12th February, well attended. On the 9th October, Sandra Gann, an engaging and we held our combined meeting accomplished speaker, gave a talk with The Berwick History Society on; "Myths, Magic and Mediaeval when Leona J Thomas gave a talk Medicine". Then on 11th March, on The Russian Arctic Convoys in Sir Philip Mawer assisted by 1942 which was told in her father's Barracks Site Manager, Sophie memoirs. The report of this talk Howard, gave an eagerly awaited was written by James Bruce, update on The Berwick Barracks Chairman of The History Society Project. who is himself very knowledgeable about Russia. Reports on these meetings appear later in this newsletter. For the 13th November meeting, we were very pleased that Max An interesting calendar of Events Adams, the charismatic, acclaimed for the 2020/2021 season was in biographer, archaeologist and the process of being compiled expert on woodland and tree before the Coronavirus crisis. We histories gave a talk entitled; "What hope that the programme can be shall we do with all the Trees?". rescheduled soon. He has been a popular contributor to two of The Berwick Literary Zoreen Hill 4 CIVIC SOCIETY NEWS NEW NEWSLETTER interesting task in support of the Society. So, what does the job EDITOR REQUIRED! involve? Just to say that I will not be Two newsletters are produced standing for re-election to the annually: in spring and autumn. Executive Committee at the AGM The content, you will know as a as I have taken on new reader, includes reports from the commitments with two Chairman and Treasurer plus organisations in Edinburgh that I summaries of monthly meetings, have been involved with for some plus articles of general interest time. entirely of the Editor’s choosing. I have enjoyed input from Michael Apart from that, as many may be Cullen over the years, who, I am aware, I am only an occasional sure, will continue to contribute weekender in Berwick and so interesting items. rarely can attend the monthly talks, and even the Executive Committee No special technical expertise is meetings often require me to make required other than a familiarity special trips down for the day. with Microsoft Word or similar software package and a I have produced the newsletter and knowledge of how to paste looked after the website for about photographs into the body of the five years now and took these jobs text. The document is in A5 page on to help, as the newsletter editor size with two columns per page had just left the area when I joined although the overall layout is the Society. I think it is now time to entirely up to the Editor. I normally hand over to a full-time resident convert the newsletter to PDF who has better local knowledge format for emailing to the printer. and contacts. I shall of course help during So, this Spring newsletter will be handover to a new person by my last, but it does allow a good explaining any issues of concern. six months for a member to come forward and take on what is an John Webster 5 OUTLAW KING marquees for catering and costumes and make up. THE BACKGROUND All the hotels ,B&Bs and holiday STORY lets were filled with actors and crew members the star of the film playing Robert The Bruce was Chris Pine and his personal chef, Jamie Kemp stayed with Ian and I for three nights in our B&B The Anchorage in Woolmarket. On the first day of filming I was at the Tweedmouth side of the Old Bridge with my sister Shirley and friend Joanne to watch the action a In January 2019 I was invited to a lot of beautiful horses with actors in meeting at the Main Guard, chainmail were cantering across together with some regular the bridge. It was amazing to see stewards and committee members, all the cameras filming shots from to discuss ideas for that year's different angles, and to realise how exhibition.