Strong turn-out for Gazette reader surgeries

On Thursday, February 27, reporter Tom Cotterill visited the Angmering Library.

Within minutes of being there, he was visited by Eric Holmes, chairman of the Angmering Chorale.

He told Tom about the choir’s upcoming events – which included a commemorative trip overseas to France, to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings (see page 16).

Mr Holmes said the trip would be an historic moment for the choir and its director, George Jones, who is helping to lead an hour-long production, with other choirs from France, Belgium and Germany joining in the celebration.

In the afternoon, Tom had the chance to speak with Penny Keen, co-ordinator of the Littlehampton branch of Support our Soldiers.

She told Tom how the charity – which provides small comfort boxes for serving armed forces personnel – was blossoming.

On Friday, an interesting question was raised by Jan Leightley, while Tom was at the Littlehampton Library.

The 65-year-old, of Butts Mead, in Wick, pointed out that on Littlehampton’s First World War memorial, in Beach Road, the dates read from 1914 to 1919 – one year after the war ended.

She wondered if this was a mistake. However, the town’s museum curator, Juliet Thomas, explained the date was deliberate.

She said although the conflict ended in 1918, soldiers continued to die from their injuries well into 1919.

The chairman of the Arun Access Group, Mike Clough, made an urgent appeal for more volunteers to join the organisation, which campaigns for betters access for disabled people across the district (see page 10).