Visit to town was a dream come true

An appreciation of the hospitality of Scarborough from Alderman William Ascough’s great grandson:

Thank you to the mayor and mayoress, Julia and the Civic Office, Anne and John Morley, John and Caroline Grant, Keith Wright, David Blackburn, Tom Tomlinson ... we are catching our breath before moving on to Eckington.

I would like to make a formal statement of appreciation of the wonderful reception afforded to us during our visit to Scarborough which has been a dream of mine for years.

I never met my great grandfather but I also never met my maternal grandfather and grandmother.

It has been a sheer pleasure and great honour to visit the places where they worked and also to understand the great legacy that has been left due to the work of the Scarborough School Board and then the Education Committee of the Municipal Council from 1871 through to 1926.

As I have said in my press comments it has been so encouraging to see first hand the high standard of education and child care still being exercised at the most famous of schools, Gladstone Road School! We are hoping that the archives of this famous school can be made safe and accessible for generations to come.

My grandfather Harry Norwood was an early mover and shaker in the National Union of Teachers, which tradition is still being upheld in Scarborough by my new friends.

I have decided, rightly or wrongly, that the first Clerk to the School Board, and subsequent Clerk to the Town Council, George Dippie, introduced William Ascough to the Masons as the Masonic Hall was only a few steps from King Street and a wonderful place to go after work. And obviously to engage with a range of Scarborough people. His involvement with the Amicable Society was an obvious step given the support William received as a young boy from a Burnley mill family.

Once again thank you Scarborough! David and Gillian Moore Kenneth Street Longueville New South Wales Australia