The Procession
Allan Willett, the Lord Lieutenantof Kent held his annual Civic Service at All Saints Church in Maidstone on 22 April. This is always a well attended event with civic dignatories and representatives of all levels of local government, the judiciary and emergency services invited. It starts with a parade of those with chains of office with the junior town mayors followed by the Lord Mayor of Canterbury then the district council chairmen. The civic procession is followed by the Lord Lieutnenant and his wife.
John Hall, Nina Bliss, Cllrs Robert Bliss and Susan Carey
I was accompanied by my husband, John Hall and the Leader of Shepway, Robert Bliss and his wife Nina. Other attendees from the Shepway District included Cllr Keren Belcourt, the town mayor of Hythe and her husband, Reg, Cllr David Kersey the town mayor of Lydd and his wife Margaret, Cllr Janet Andrews the town mayor of Folkestone and Cllr Susan Wallace and some special guests of whom more later. The clerk of Sellindge Parish Council, Linda Hedley is also attending and after nearly a year as chairman I recognise many of the mayors and chairman of other parts of Kent as well as the County Councillors. A new face is Peregrine Massey the new High Sheriff who is very noticeable as he is 6′ 6″ and looks most imposing in his official black uniform.
Robert Alston CMG QSO DL and Cllr Susan Carey
When I attended this service last year, the South Nave Aisle was shrouded in plastic sheeting for restoration. This is now complete and it looks splendid. All Saints was built in 1395 and has been the parish church of Maidstone since 1549.
The church is full and we fill the church with singing. A group of school children from Sandling Primary school perform with great confidence and also manage to fill the church with their voices. Allan’s Willett’s address was well worth hearing so I asked for a transcript which appears at the foot of the blog.
After the service we go to a reception at the Archbishop’s Palace where we meet some special guests who have been invited in thanks for the work they did at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Peggy Huntington and Audrey Wind both live in Shepway and met for the first time at this reception. It’s hardly surprising they did not know one another as there were around 9,000 people working on the code breaking projects at Bletchley Park . Christopher Ubee the Lifeboat Operations Manager at Dungeness also joins us for the reception.
Peggy Huntington formerly of Bletchley Park
Here, in full, is the address given by the Lord Lieutenant for Kent, Allan Willett CMG.
“Like our ancient Cathedrals at Canterbury and Rochester, this ancient church of All Saints at the heart of our County Town of Maidstone - – provides the magnificent setting for this, the Lieutenancy’s sixth Civic Service and I start my address by thanking Canon Christopher Morgan-Jones for allowing us to meet here today in this holy and special place.
This is an occasion of celebration, thanksgiving and a big thank you for all you do for our County of Kent for your service to our communities – and for invoking the wonderful Spirit of Kent. And as I look, around this iconic building, I am struck by the thought that, regardless of religion or political beliefs, the distinguished multi-faith congregation gathered together today share three things in common – dedication and service to your communities, a pride in our Frontline County’s unparalleled history and a belief in Kent and its future.
In this our country of England pride in our Counties is deep inside our psyche. They give us a sense of identity, of unity – and of stability. And holding this Civic Service here today underlines the important role our vibrant County Town plays as the centre of gravity in the life of our County of Kent.
Leading this Civic Service is a fitting task for the Lieutenancy – which is an entirely non-political, non-sectarian, independent force for good in our great County. My role – and that of my Deputies (of which some 37 active or retired are here today) is to support The Queen and celebrate Kent, its unique history and culture, serve its communities – and contribute positively to its future.
As the Monarchy does nationally, our aim is to provide a focus for County identity, unity and pride, give a sense of stability (so important in this age of rapid and destabilising change ) recognise achievements, success and excellence, and promote service to others (just as we are doing at this service today). If asked to sum up in a phrase what the Lieutenancy is all about I would be tempted to answer: nurturing the unique Spirit of Kent.
It was born of being the Frontline County, first stop on the route to London of would-be invaders and it was born through our helping to see off those same potential invaders of our country:. William, who we in Kent call the Norman not the Conqueror because here we were never conquered
The Procession
The Armada in 1588 when the Lieutenancy (recently created in 1585 under Lord Cobham) gathered thousands of Men of Kent and Kentish Men on the cliff-tops ready to throw the Spaniards back into the English Channel if they had managed to land. Napoleon, who would have found fortress Kent a very tough nut to crack if his so-called Army of England had managed to dodge our Navy and get ashore. And Hitler, foiled by the victory of the Battle of Britain, when Kent was once again centre stage in a drama that ended with saving western civilisation from tyranny.
It was also born, I believe, of welcoming peaceful arrivals like Augustine in 597 AD, a climactic event from which sprang Ethelbert’s First English Code of Law and the first writing in the English language. And like those who over the centuries have brought in new ideas, new agricultural methods and new industrial processes which we here in Kent have refined, improved and passed on for the benefit of others and we are still doing that today, witness Thanet Earth. All this has been Kent’s legacy to the rest of the nation and in many cases to the wider world. All of you present in this Holy place on this Kentish morning (and there are some 650 people in this Church today) are living proof of a wonderful continuity of service that stretches back to those times and beyond.
May I particularly welcome and thank my Vice Lord Lieutenant Viscount Philip de L’Isle, the Marquis of Abergavenny, President of St John’s in Kent, the Reverend Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury, his Honour Judge Jeremy Carey, Circuit Judge and Recorder for Maidstone, Mr John Davies the Chairman of Kent County Council, Mr Paul Carter the Leader of Kent County Council, Mr Rodney Chambers the Leader of Medway Council, Sir Robert Worcester – Chancellor of the University of Kent at Canterbury, Sir Graeme Odgers, who has done so much for economic development in Kent, Cllr Peter Parvin, the Mayor of Maidstone and Cllr Harry Cragg, the Lord Mayor of Canterbury. All of above work on a pro-bono basis or earn much, much less thanthey could earn in the private sector.
All Saints Maidstone
It is my happy task today to also welcome and thank the many Town Mayors, Mayors and Chairman for the self-less work you do during your year of office, and also to thank here today the some 80 County, District, Borough and Parish Councillors, for all the often ignored and often undervalued work you do in your communities. Be assured that your work on behalf of your communities is valued and without it our great County simply would not function.
Here today we are especially pleased to have Jane Rogers who has just completed her year as High Sheriff and has done wonderful work. We thank her. We also have here today Peregrine Massey and his wife Deidre who are embarking on their year of service to our County. Good luck. Many thanks to them also and all the previous High Sheriffs alive today who have served this County so well. One of my roles as Lord Lieutenant is to chair the County’s Advisory Committee on the Magistracy and I am pleased to see that Kent’s 800-plus JPs are well represented here today. The Magistracy is the single most important component in the criminal justice system in this country. Our magistrates in Kent consistently show a very high degree of commitment to this important voluntary work. They represent local, visible justice and I thank them for dedicating themselves to this vital but again often thankless task. The some 40 representatives of the Emergency Services, the Health Care Services, and Police are also well represented and I thank all of you for the often ignored and often undervalued work you do in protecting and looking after the welfare of those in our communities. I especially commend those here today from the relief team who helped deal with the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.
As Lord Lieutenant, I and my Deputies hold the Patronages and Presidencies or are members of just about every voluntary body and charity in Kent and I am delighted to see so many members of these marvellous bodies here today, including groups that I have had the pleasure to present the Queen’s Awards for Voluntary Service to during my Lieutenancy. How much poorer our communities would be without your unstinting and unselfish service. We welcome members of the business community
including winners of Queen’s Awards for business. As a former businessman myself I am very well aware of the challenges they face and thank them for all they do in these most difficult times to provide jobs and create wealth for the people of our County. I would especially like to thank those here today from Kent’s Media groups who despite the most challenging operating conditions continue to provide excellent channels of communication, a vital part of the glue that holds our County’s mosaic of communities together. I welcome, too, some 30 representatives from the world of education. The future of our communities will depend on our ability to create a healthy and expanding knowledge-based economy to replace the traditional industries and agriculture. And education has a crucial role to play.
I wish to particularly thank the some 20 representatives of the Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men who work tirelessly for the good of Kent In these words of thanks I have saved some remarkable men and women till last! I am delighted that this service of celebration includes members of the wartime Home Guard, Auxiliary Fire Service and the Bletchley Park code-breakers who contributed so much to victory in World War II and have now been officially recognised with the award of a special badge.
Audrey Wind, formerly of Bletchley Park and Cllr Susan Carey
On behalf of The Queen who I am so proud to represent I thank you all and also the many who I have not mentioned today, we are eternally grateful for all you do for our great County of Kent.
Thank you.
In this year of 2010 my Lieutenancy will be commemorating a number of significant anniversaries:
The 70th anniversary of Dunkirk, when the Navy and the little ships brought back a third of a million men, many of them to Kentish ports, to live to fight – and to win – another day. And the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, fought mainly in Kentish skies, which kept Hitler at bay made D Day and eventual victory possible and saved Western civilisation. On the 19th and 20th July I shall lay a Wreath of Remembrance at all the airfields in Kent that took part in that great battle. On the 8th May, at Rochester Cathedral we will be celebrating Cadet 150 marking the birth of the Cadet Movement and the Centenary of Guiding, both of which do so much for the development of our young people, giving them a head start in life. And I am delighted that some of these fine young people and their adult leaders are here with us today. Let us never forget that many of the young soldiers who were saved from the beaches of Dunkirk were not much older than the Cadets and Guides of today. The same is true of the airmen, many still in their teens, who saw off the Luftwaffe
in the dark days of 1940. So I believe that this year’s Lieutenancy theme Celebrating the Achievements of Youth in Kent,Past, Present and Future is entirely relevant. It is, I believe, of great importance that the young people of today understand and appreciate the sacrifices of earlier generations. It is equally important that the older generations do not write off today’s young people as soft, uncaring and troublesome, but instead hear about all the positive things they are achieving, not only in uniformed youth organisations but in clubs, as young carers and the like. So today, and at our main event at Detling on 15th May, it is right that we mix the generations. For the remainder of my Lieutenancy, which is due to end in August 2011,my intention is to continue to instil a pride in our Frontline County’s unparalleled and glorious past and to encourage a belief in Kent’s future. We have the opportunity to leave a legacy to coming generations. With the Thames Gateway development and the new high speed railway our County is undergoing enormous change. Let us have Pride in our past and confidence in our future And I have every confidence that all here today and especially our young people will not be found wanting as they take our great County into the future.
Finally Her Majesty is now in her 85 th year, and has reigned for almost 58 years, yet still she continues to give wonderful service to others. There is surely no finer example of self-less dedication to Commonwealth, Nation and her people. And as The Queen’s representative in our County, I know that she would wish me to pass Her thanks on to all of you for the dedicated and self-less service you give to your communities, and to our great County of Kent.
Thanks be to God.”
Linda Hedley, Cllr Susan Carey and Christine Davies
We then move on to Hawkinge where we are joined by a new set of local people and veterans and by District Councillors Stuart Peall and David Godfrey. The pattern of the service is the same but it has a different feel to it as we are at the Battle of Britain Museum with equipment and memorabilia from the Second World War. We place our wreaths by the wheels of a Spitfire.
