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Wartime heroine linked to town


A CENTENARY celebration will mark nurse Edith Cavell’s connections with Maidstone. The daughter of a vicar, the Norfolk-born nurse is famous for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides during World War I and helping about 200 Allied sol- diers escape from German-occu- pied Belgium.


But less


well known is the fact that she also helped save the lives of hundreds of people in Maidstone. Nurse


Edith Cavell


Edith spent the summer of 1897 in Maidstone,


following an outbreak of typhoid. During her training at the Royal London Hospital, she was among six nurses sent to the town to help care for the victims andwent on to receive the Maidstone Medal for her sterling work. In the end, only 132 people died


out of the 1,700 who contracted the disease.


Two lectures will take place at


the United Reformed Church in Week Street, at 3pm and 7pm on Thursday, October 15, when local people will be able to learn more about this pioneering lady and her connections with Kent. Tony Miles, from Curzon Road, Maidstone and Rob Davies, from Boxley Road, are both members of the Kent Branch of the Orders, Medals and Research Society, Rob being knowledgeable about the Maidstone Medal. The pair will speak about Edith


Cavell’s time in the town and her return, in January 1898, to receive her medal. Admission is £3 and refresh-


ments will be available. During October, Maidstone Mu-


seum also has a display of arte- facts connected with Edith Cavell, including a Maidstone Medal, and a plaque will be unveiled by Maidstone Council in recognition of her work.  Edith Cavell was arrested and court-martialled for helping the Allied soldiers escape. She was sentenced to death and, despite international protestations, shot by a German firing squad in Bel- gium on October 12, 1915.


Concert to help hospices


A FESTIVAL choir of more than 150 local singers, led by Maidstone Choral Union, will perform at the end of October in the annual Voices for Hospices Concert. The principal aim of the concert


is to raise funds for hospices, with emphasis on the Heart of Kent Hospice in Aylesford. A semi-staged performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s delightfully silly HMS Pinafore will be presented at Mote Hall, Maidstone Leisure Centre in Mote Park on Saturday, October 31, starting at 7.30pm.


Visiting professional soloists –


wearing their colourful HMS Pinafore costumes – will sing the major roles in this entertaining work.


This is an opportunity for the audience to support the work of an important organisation and to enjoy an evening of well-known music that appeals to all ages. Tickets are available from MCU


ticket secretary – 01622 726193 or freda@me169lb.fsnet.co.uk or from the hospice fundraising office on 01622 790195. Stalls £12.50, tiered stalls £16, gallery £10.


Two-year ban for drink-driver


AN AYLESFORD woman was banned from driving for two years after admitting drink-driving. Caroline Tannahill (41), from Whitepost Wood Lane, Aylesford, drove a Vauxhall Corsa in London Road, Allington, on September 9, and gave a breath test of 93mg of al-


cohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg. She was sentenced at Mid Kent Magistrates’ Court, where she was banned from driving for 24 months and ordered to pay a £335 fine, a £150 criminal courts charge, £85 costs and a £33 victim surcharge.


Crews called to field fire KENT Fire and Rescue Service was called to a field fire in Birling Road, Snodland. Two fire engines were sent and firefighters used a hose reel and beaters to extinguish the fire before damping down.


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