Normanton on Soar
Heather Herrington 01509 646240 heather.herrington@live.com
PARISH COUNCIL. The following are items of interest from the minutes of the Normanton on Soar Parish Council meeting held on June 7.
The full minutes can be viewed on the village website www.normanton-on-soar.co.uk, on the village notice board or on application to the clerk to the council.
Streetwise had cleared the household items dumped at the glass recycling site. Request was made for ‘No Fly Tipping’ notices to be erected and for the site to be added to the list for temporary CCTV.
Parking in the village hall car park was discussed This had been considered at a U3A committee meeting and prior warning was requested if the overflow car park was out of action so that they could appoint Marshalls to supervise parking. H. Peberdy offered to marshall parking for the next U3A meeting at the hall.
Speed results had shown an 85th percentile of 31mph. It was suggested that the Police Speed Camera van attend Normanton on Soar when it visited Sutton Bonington. Cllr Brown said that the ANPR van had been in the village and a number of tickets were issued.
Four drains had been identified for investigation as part of the ongoing check on blockages causing flooding.
The field had been raked and rolled following the damage caused by the caravan rally in April. There had been a ROSPA safety check on the play equipment.
The bottom wooden tower floor section would be replaced, and the ground levels would be built up.
A Google calendar had been created to log volunteer shifts on the ferry. It was also used to record how many passengers used the Ferry each day. May takings totaled £201.
The Environment Agency was looking into whether the Ferry was licensed. It was proposed that a flag system be used to signal if the Ferry was open. A red flag would be raised when the Ferry was not in operation and a yellow flag when the it was operating.
160 invites for the village picnic in the park would be printed ready for circulation
Repairs to the water pump at the allotments had been carried out. Noticeboard glass needed replacing. The bridges on footpath 8 had been repaired. Mr Yates was thanked for his kind donation towards the repairs to the picnic bench.
Three nominations were received for the vacancy on the parish council. Two of the candidates had withdrawn prior to the deadline.
P. Sharpe’s application was circulated and discussed, and it was agreed to co-opt P Sharpe to the council
Reports had been received about youths parking on Butt Lane drinking and drug taking. There were also reports of cars parking at the bus garage site, and youths hanging around the site during the night. The police and land owner would be advised.
D. Al-Harriri was thanked for his work researching the ‘enclosed settlement’ on Butt Lane.
WOMEN’S INSTITUTE. Alison Clark introduced members to the concept of Nordic Walking at the meeting on July 3.
Alison explained that the technique had been developed in Finland to help cross-country skiers maintain fitness during the summer months. Members were surprised
to discover that there were noticeable differences between trekking and Nordic waling, and that the poles used were also different. Amongst much hilarity the group retired to the field outside the hall to “have a go”.
This was followed by a quiz which emphasised the positive benefits to health and well-being. Sue James, in thanking Alison, made reference to the fact that many of the members were interested in keeping fir through walking and that there was the possibility that they would create their own club following training.
During the business of the meeting names were taken for the visit to Wollaton Park on 16 August, the ladies lunch on 3 August, for help with the Sutton Bonington Show, and for 2019 diaries.
Members were asked for ideas for entertainment for the upcoming Group Meeting in 2019, and also for the Christmas meal. The competition of the prettiest walking stick was won by Bernie Webster, a visitor from West Leake WI, and the 50:50 draw was won by Sally Swales.
ST JAMES’ CHURCH There will be a service of Holy Communion on Sunday, July 15, starting at 9.30am. Everyone is welcome to the service.
Gotham
A LOVE STORY. Gotham WI have their next meeting tomorrow, Thursday, July 12, at 7.30pm in the Cheese Rollers room at Gotham Memorial Hall.
The talk will be by Heather Harrington with a title ‘George and Mary, a love story’.
The August meeting is on the 9th with a walk and supper in the garden. Contact Pat for further details on 0115 983 0326.
GOTHAM WOMEN KILLED IN EXPLOSION. Just 100 years ago two Gotham women working in the Government Munitions factory at Chilwell were among the 134 workers killed in explosion at the premises where shells for use in the First World War were filled with explosives.
The two Gotham women killed were Louie Chaplin (19) and Fanny Taylor (21). Two others on duty at the factory on the same day, Emily and Betsy, escaped the blast.
The National Shell Filling Factory at Chilwell, was a World War I United Kingdom Government-owned explosives Filling Factory. Its formal title was National Filling Factory No. 6. It was located near Chilwell, at that time a village, in Nottinghamshire on the main road from Nottingham to Ashby de la Zouch. During the Great War it filled some 19 million shells with high explosives.
A substantial part of the Factory was destroyed in an explosion of eight tons of TNT on 1 July 1918. In all 134 people were killed, of whom only 32 could be positively identified, and a further 250 were injured.
The unidentified bodies are in a mass grave in St. Mary’s Church, Attenborough. The blast was reportedly heard twenty miles away.
The factory returned to work for the war effort the next day, and within one month of the disaster reportedly achieved its highest weekly production. Winston Churchill, then Minister of Munitions, sent a telegram in which he offered his sincere sympathy with all concerned in the misfortune that has overtaken what he described as your fine factory and in the loss of valuable lives, those who have perished have died at their stations on the field of duty and those who have lost their dear ones should fortify themselves with this thought, the courage and spirit shown by all concerned both men and women command our admiration, and the decision to which you have all come to carry on without a break is worthy of the spirit which animates our soldiers in the field.“
Scotland Yard was called in to investigate. After it had been suggested it was sabotage.
However, the more likely explanation was lax safety standards as the workforce competed to meet increasingly challenging production targets, coupled with the instability of the TNT compound on an unseasonably warm day.
Principal historical facts of the factory are recorded as having the first sod turned 13th September 1915 and the first shell being filled on 8th January 1916.
The number of shells filled within one year of cutting the first sod was 1,260,000 and total shells filled were 19,359,000 representing 50.8% of the total output of high-explosive shell both lyddite and amatol 60pd to 15inch produced in Great Britain during the war. Total tonnage of explosive used was 121,360 tons and the total weight of filled shell 1,100,000 tons.
LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY TALK ON BAYEAUX. The next meeting of the Gotham & District Local History Society will be held on Thursday, July 19, in the Cheese Rollers Room of the Memorial Hall at 7.30pm. Dr. Colin Groves will be giving a talk on the Bayeux Tapestry.