MEMORIAL TO DUNKIRK AND BATTLE OF BRITAIN HERO UNVEILED
WIRRAL STATIONS ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO SUCCESS
IN BRIEF
MEMORIAL TO DUNKIRK AND BATTLE OF BRITAIN HERO UNVEILED
WIRRAL STATIONS ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO SUCCESS
A permanent memorial to a Battle of Britain hero whose story featured in the recent film ‘ Dunkirk ’ was unveiled at Seacombe Promenade .
The memorial to Jack Potter was provided by Wirral Council , and guests included members of the Wallasey-born pilot ’ s family , who travelled from as far afield as Australia and Canada .
Driving force behind the memorial was Cllr Jerry Williams , Wirral Council ’ s heritage champion , who managed to trace surviving family and friends of the airman , whose story forms the narrative of one of the pilots in ‘ Dunkirk ’ whose engine seizes and ditches into the sea . An appeal through the media to find surviving friends and family of the Oldershaw School old boy led Cllr Williams to Jack Potter ’ s son , who lives in Brighton . He has been delighted to learn of his father ’ s auspicious past and attended the memorial being unveiled . Jack served in both the Battle of Britain and Dunkirk , and took part in the rescue of 200 service personnel from HMS Basilisk when it was sunk by German aircraft during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 . He survived WWII , later settling and ending his days in Brighton , in 1977 .
Cllr Jerry Williams , said : “ Although Jack is not mentioned by name in the film , ‘ Dunkirk ,’ the pilot ditching his spitfire into the sea during the film is based on him . He had an illustrious war record . At Dunkirk , he destroyed a Messerchmitt ; less than a week later , his engine seized 15 miles from the English coast and he ditched into the sea , later being picked up and landed at Dover . During the Battle of Britain , he ditched into the Channel again , picked up by a German vessel , and spent the rest of his war in a Prisoner of War Camp .”
It is thought that efforts by the RAF saved more than a third of a million soldiers at Dunkirk . They intercepted large numbers of German Luftwaffe planes as they were machine gunning land and sea as soldiers awaited evacuation . Cllr Williams says : “ Jack survived the war and died in Brighton in 1977 . Around this time I was corresponding with Battle of Britain Pilots , collecting signatures , and wrote to Jack . Sadly his relatives said he had just died , but they sent me a copy of his signature .”
Volunteers at two Wirral stations are celebrating after being named winners at a leading rail awards ceremony .
Wallasey Grove Road and Hoylake station picked up top prizes at Cheshire ’ s Best Kept Stations Awards , which took place at The Grange Theatre , in Nantwich , at the end of last month , after being put forward by Merseyrail . The awards aim to encourage , promote and recognise the work of station adoption schemes and community groups in caring for local stations throughout Cheshire and this was the first year that Wirral has been included in the competition .
The Awards were presented before 170 guests by Jools Townsend , the chief executive of the Association of Community Rail Partnerships ( ACoRP ), the membership body for around 60 community rail partnerships and over 1,000 station adoption groups across the UK . They were also attended by Her Majesty ’ s Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire , the Lord Mayor of Chester , the Deputy Mayor of Wirral and 15 other Mayors . Wallasey Grove Road won the coveted Best Newcomer title for its beautifully presented gardens whilst Hoylake picked up the first ever Wirral Award for its excellent plantation scheme which includes herbs that passengers can pick and take away .
Sally Ralston , Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for Merseyrail , said : “ We are incredibly proud of all our volunteers at Wallasey Grove and Hoylake station who have worked tirelessly to brighten up our stations and create much loved and cared for gardens that everyone can enjoy . Like all our adoption schemes , they are run by local people with community at the heart of them they and they thoroughly deserve the recognition they received on the night for their outstanding contributions . We hope their award success will encourage other residents and members of the community across the Merseyrail network , who are interested in getting involved with these schemes , to come forward and contact my team as these projects can help to make a real difference .”
Cllr Geoffrey Watt , Deputy Mayor of Wirral , who attended the awards , said : “ I am delighted with the Cheshire Best Kept stations awards to our stations . I am particularly happy for all the people of Wallasey and Hoylake , for the volunteers who work at the stations , and for Merseyrail and Merseytravel who give us so much support .”
The full list of winners can be found at www . bestkeptstations . org . uk
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