VANDALS OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS
This blog seldom reports on Tunbridge Wells itself as, in the tradition set by its illustrious forebear – the original DoTW – it comments on national and international events.
However, the good citizens of the Royal Borough are well and truly disgusted and in truth right royally pissed off with local council plans to blitz the town’s central park and turn it into a multi million new HQ for that body of vandals.
The word “blitz” is highly significant here as the park – the Calverley Grounds – is home to a memorial for one of England’s heroes, the late Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding who headed RAF Fighter Command and “the few” who trounced the German Luftwaffe and saved England and in some respects Europe in WW2..
There is justifiable concern at what will become of the memorial as the council has already stated that it plans to fell and burn a number of trees that were planted to remember our military dead and anyone who would do that is quite capable of removing a lump of stone.
The future of the memorial is of not only national but international interest.
The Air Chief Marshal, later Lord Dowding, led the young pilots under his command against far superior forces, and won. Had they not, the Germans would have invaded Britain. With Britain occupied there would have been no base for the launch of D-Day. Without D-Day, the whole of Europe would have remained under the Jack Boot.
Lord Dowding himself lived in Tunbridge Wells, indeed in Calverley Park at No 1 and it was there that he died. It is in the park that his memorial must remain unmolested. To do otherwise would be an insult both to him and the nation.
NB. you can see a picture of the stone on the page headed “POLITICAL CORRECTNESS” on this blog.
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Dear Disgusted, I very much share your disgust at your local council’s ridiculous plans. Not only is there a complete lack of need for more theatre and retail space (evidence is the rapidly emptying Victoria Place shopping ‘mall’ and the inability of any developer to make a commercially viable plan to develop the prime ‘cinema’ space that has been under development for at least the 13 years that I have lived here) and the glut of empty office space from which new offices could be found (rented or bought) BUT to get the public purse into 90 million of debt AND destroy a beautiful historic green space to build some over the top new council buildings is truly DISGUSTING!!!
Whiny of Wadhurst
By the way, are you the same ‘Disgusted’ who posts on Facebook and has a Podcast or are these imposters who are using your good name to suggest that other issues are worthy of my contempt!
Hi Claire.Thanks for your post and no – I’m not the same disgusted posting on Facebook and I have nothing to do with the podcast. There’s only one DofTW but they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery!