Mr Steve Geale gave a talk on Cops on the box, a well presented talk on a large number of police series that have appeared on our tv’s over the years, it was amazing just how many that there have been, a very enjoyable talk and well received by our members.
On the 19th September at our Coffee Morning we welcomed back Mr Alan Pugh as our speaker, who gave a talk about the times from the Battle of the Alamo, which occurred in 1836. Alan covered quite a time span and delivered in the most professional manner, what a true gentleman, great to have him back again.
We heard from a comprehensive build up from the years before 1836 to explain how this battle came to fruition, and how the armies of both sides were gathered, the battle itself lasted for only 13 days, while the battle of the Alamo, (a church) lasted for only 90 minutes, resulting in the deaths of Davy Crocket and Jim Bowie to name but two. A fascinating fact was that there were 22 british fighting in that battle while only 11 were actually from Texas. Mr Pugh had lived in Texas for ten years he told us, close by to where these events occurred, he gave a detailed professional and knowledgeable account which everyone enjoyed, all in all a great experience. Read more about the Battle of Alamo on Wikapedia.
We are slowly working through the photos from Ray Franks, unfortunately alot of them have no information. Here are 2 photos below that we have no information for. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
This mornings speaker was Kath Reynolds who gave a great talk about sweet memories, taking us all back to our childhood day’s and the sweets we used to buy from the corner shops, unbelievable how tastes and presentation has changed, great talk that was enjoyed by our members.
Tony represented the society at the funeral of Ray Franks. It was a lovely services and a great tribute to the memory of Ray Franks.
Our own community Chit Chat group on Facebook, for Great Wyrley, Chairperson’s Sarah Wiggin & Lee Murphy have raised more than £500 in 48 hours to replace the bleed kit on the Wall of the Co-op, in Wardles Lane, which had been installed in June last year. The special trauma bandages and kit delivered care to the man that was shoot in Field Lane until the ambulance crew came.
The community Group opted to install bleed kits in the village after several violet incidents on the railway line. The group contacted the Daniel Baird Foundation which has installed more than 15,000 kits across the country in memory of Daniel who was stabbed to death in Digbeth in 2017.
The Community group reached a £1,000 in donations since. This will fund the replacement bleed kit in the Great Wyrley Cabinet and more have been ordered to distribute round the village. Chairman of the Chit Chat Group Lee Murphy says “We decided to get the two cabinets after hearing a knife was seen on the train line through Landywood and we thought knife crime was getting too close for comfort. We also know that they can be used for any other catastrophic bleed.” The successful fundraising drive is the latest in a long line of contributions to the community by the volunteers who wanted to make a difference.
The Chit Chat Facebook page was formed in 2017 with a focus on crime watch and became an official community group in 2018 expanded into further projects such as tidying the village, adopting Landywood Station and campaigning for better bus services. They successfully helped to significantly reduce a spate of vehicle thefts and break-ins. And worked with Staffordshire Police, South Staffs Council, Support Staffs and West Midlands Railway. During Covid-19 they worked Chase Coronavirus Support Network and, with volunteers, delivered postcards to every household offering information for those that needed anything (eg. pharmacy, collections, shopping, etc.) After Covid they launched a campaign to help small businesses in the village to recover by encouraging people to use them and offer free advertising on Facebook. Lee Murphy said “We all work towards making the community better, there is myself and Sarah Wiggin, trustees Tony and Gillian are retired friends and have become local celebs – they go out daily litter picking at the station and round the village. Olwen is our treasurer and social media helper. Follow the Local Chit Chat group on Facebook