News |WorldWar I


Appeal to family of gardener lost in action


THE Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is appealing for information about aMaidstone rose specialist whoworkedwith its team before going towar. The RBGE,which this month


opened a wild poppy memorial meadow to mark the centenary of the start of the war, wants to know more about its 73 gardeners who went off towar. Walter Henry Morland, from


Maidstone, was one of 20 killed in action. Little is known aboutPrivate


Morland’s life, other than that he was borninMaidstone on February 15, 1881, and joined the RBGE in 1910, after training atKew.While at Kew, he joined its guild – a social andsupport club for garden staff – and created the RGBE’s own guild in 1913. As its first secretary, the guild’s activities were temporarily sus- pended when Morland signed up to the 5th Royal Scots on September 14, but he agreed to write for the Kew Guild journal. It reported: “Wehad a clear letter from him aday or twopreviously,


found his body.” Private Morland was 34. His


legacy – the RGBE Guild – cele- brated its 100th birthday last year. RBGE archivist Leonie Paterson


full of hope, and a promise towrite his experiences for the journal. But alas, in less than twomonthsour comrade had fallen. “He got safely through the terri-


ble landing onApril 25, butdid not return from a desperate assault on awood below Krithia onMay 7. “For threeweeks no traces of him


could be found,and it was sup- posed hehad been taken prisoner; then his chums, during an advance,


Rockland Electrical


hopesMrMorland’s family still live in Maidstone and will have more details about his life. She said: “Our library holds the 1921 War Service Roll to ‘preserve for all timethe story of the loyalty of our garden staff’and there is amemorial in the grounds.However, at the outbreak of the Great War, the garden had 110 staff.Ofthe 88male employees, 73 joined the forces and 20 lost their lives in action. “We are using the anniversary to appeal for information to get a deeper understanding of the gar- den’s own FirstWorldWar story.” TheRBGE’sWar Service Roll can


be viewed atwww.rbge.org.ukand anyonewith information about the gardeners can send contributions to commemorate@rbge.org.uk.


downsmail.co.uk Wartime life


told in leers LETTERS from the front feature in an exhibition ofWWImemorabilia on display at the Kent History and Library Centre inMaidstone. In TheirOwnWords:KentVoices


of the First World War is a major new exhibition produced byKent County Council. The exhibition reflects wartime


experiences of men and women of Kent using photographs, letters, postcards,war recordsand spoken histories. Mike Hill, KCC cabinet member


for community services, said: “This exhibition is a wonderfulopportu- nity for people to find out the real impact of this cataclysmic conflict on people in Kent.” Among the exhibits are:


 The story of the Orchard family –only one of four brothers returned from the Front;


Air Raids – first-hand accounts of air raids; evacuation orders; and newspaper articles;  Hardships – letters to the Kent War Relief Fund by womenwhose husbandswere called up. The exhibition runs to theend of


October. For more information about events to commemorate the war, visitwww.kent.gov.uk/WW1


FREE copy of the


Your October


Edition of the


will also be available to pick up from:-


Morrisons Supermarket Sutton Road, Maidstone


If you live in the following postcodes: ME15-7


Pick up YOUR copy from Wednesday 24th September


24 Maidstone Town September 2014


Four editions delivered to over 88,000 homes every month Maidstone Town Edition Maidstone Town Edition


downsmail.co.uk


Maidstone & Malling’s No. 1 newspaper


FREE Maidstone Town | Maidstone East | Maidstone South | Malling


KCC children’s centres inadequate, says Ofsted


MAIDSTONE’S Sure Start children’s centres have been unanimously condemned as inadequate by Ofsted inspectors. The town centre children’s group


covers six key sites – East Borough, West Borough, Greenfields in Shep- way, The Meadows in Park Wood, the Howard de Walden Centre in Bluett Street and the Sunshine Chil- dren’s Centre in Postley Road – all run by KCC.


They failed on all counts when inspected by Ofsted in June this year.


The team of five inspectors


deemed the quality of practice and services inadequate, as was access to their services by young children and families – and the effectiveness of leadership, governance and management. The overall effective- ness of the group was also inade-


quate – the lowest of the four grades.


In a 10-point summary of key


findings, the centres were slammed for having insufficient systems to monitor children’s progress, not de- livering antenatal services to new mothers and offering too few op- portunities to parents who want to become volunteers or get back into training and employment. The centres prioritise children


whose families are unemployed, work for the military or have Eng- lish as a second language. Although the report states that


the level of care, guidance and sup- port offered to families using the centres is strong, there is not


enough support for families for whom English was not their first language, or for children with spe- cial educational needs. Leaders do not have the neces- sary information available to iden- tify what families need and the procedures to protect children who are most in need are not “robust” enough, meaning action is not al- ways taken quickly enough to keep all children in the centres safe. The report added that recent leadership and management changes meant staff have been pre- vented from having relevant train- ing and leaders had not been able to monitor the quality of some sessions.


4 £4m update


for TheMall A£4m revampofTheMallwill get underwayin January as the first phase of a bid to bringMaidstone’s anchor shopping centre into the 21st century. While longer-term planshinge


Park life likely to getbusier


MOTE Park could become theHyde Park of Kent after consentwas granted for a company to hold up to eightmajor socialevents per year. Maidstone Council has given a premises licence to SocialEvents


Worldwide to hostmore events after The Feast – a two-day food and drink festival– was organised on the August Bank Holiday weekend. The SocialFestival, a dance and culturalevent,will return to


GURKHA RESTAURANT 112 WEEK STREET, MAIDSTONE ME14 1RH


01622 692343 www.gurkharestaurant.org


OPENING HOURS: 12.00NOON - 2.30PM & 6.00PM - 11.00PM 36


ontheproposed Newnham Court development, TheMall’s newman- ager,AndyDavy,isaiming to bring the “tired-looking” retail centre up to date. Newflooring and ceilingswill go


into TheMall early in theNew Year and,while short-term leases only are beinggranted to incoming traders,MrDavy is confidentmost of theempty units will havebeen let bythen. MrDavy, who took over as Mall


manager in May, said the site va- cated by T JHughes was being left “strategically empty”. The 57,000sqft unit has been ear-


marked in longer-term plans should Debenhamsseekan alter- native site to Newnham Court, off M20 Junction7,


37 OAK AND PINE The Big Yellow Building, St Peter s St , Maids tone 01622 691 291 www.lin colnfurniture.co.uk


September 2014 No. 209 News


Hotel under threat


THE Russell Hotel could be de- molished and replaced with 14 homes, if a planning appli- cation is accepted.


Head passes way


TRIBUTES were paid to MidKent College principal Sue McLeod, who died from a brain tumour.


6 Stones ground boost


FOOTBALL Conference games can now be played on Maidstone United’s 3G pitch – if and when they win promotion.


12 Students celebrate


MANY pupils across the borough are looking forward to going to university after receiving their A-Level results.


20 Boats along Medway


SUCCESSOR to River Festival proves a success. 30


Warehouse proposal WATERSIDE Park revamp.37


Comment 32-3346-47


THE leader of Maidstone Council responds to an enquiry about housing figures, readers sound off about Willington Street and local MP Helen Grant defends her position on expenses.


Obituaries 34


FORMER mayor of Maidstone Je- remy Hindle dies, aged 68.


Crime Reports 47


A SCOOTER was stolen from Mole Hill Copse Primary School in Shepway during sports day.


Parish Councils 47


THE parish council at Loose needed new members, with peo- ple who live or work in the parish invited to fill its five vacancies.


3


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