News Heritage app


A NEW app has been launched to makeit harder for criminals to attack heritage sites like Leeds Castle. The Country Eye app allows peo-


ple to report anything suspicious at castles, cathedrals, stately homes and conservation sites. Users can upload photos to the


app which are then forwarded to the relevant authority. The free app is available at heritagewatch.co.uk.


Road blocked


A ROAD between Leeds and Lang- ley was blocked for a number of hours by a tree felled in Storm Doris. The conifer came down in Caring


Lane on February 23 and caused havoc in both directions. A Langley resident said: "There


was hardly room for drivers to turn round and by the time they had, cars were backed up behind them."


Cleary charge


A29-YEAR-OLDmanwhoattacked a man at a bar in Market Buildings, Maidstone,was given a 126-day sus- pended prison sentence at Mid Kent Magistrates’ Court. Luke Cleary, of no fixed address, admitted to common assault. He must also pay £125 compensation, £85 costs and a £115 victim sur- charge


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Hunton’s WWI past is rekindled with France


PLANS are afoot for Hunton to host a visit from representatives of Montauban De Picardie, a French village with a special link to Maidstone through a friendship rooted in the aftermath of World War I. The connection was uncovered


by borough Cllr Brian Mortimer, who hopes it will lead to a formal twinning between the two villages. Parish councillors are interested


in the idea and a date in April is being pencilled in for the visit. While researching his family his-


tory Cllr Mortimer stumbled across the story of how Maidstone raised £20,000 by public subscription in the 1920s, to help Montauban in the Somme area of northern France to recover from the war. An organisation called the British League of Help was set up to en- courage British towns and cities to adopt a French “godchild”. Maid- stone adopted Montauban because the Royal West Kent Regiment, raised in the town, fought there in the Battle of the Somme and many Kentishmenwere laid to rest there.


to replant the orchards. Cllr Mortimer re-established con-


Cllr Brian Mortimer with the medals his grandfather won inWorldWar I


The money rolled in from dona-


tions, a flag day, school collections and a sale of war paintings by Maidstone artist Frank Hyde, and provided Montauban with a water tower, electricity for the first time and holidays in Kent. Apple trees were also shipped across to France


tact with the Somme village in the run-up to the centenary of the start of WorldWar I and established that the water tower still stands. In August 2014, he visited Mon- tauban with Cllrs Dan Daley and Gordon Newton and presented a plaque marking the relationship. The visitwas especially poignant as Cllr Mortimer’s grandfather, William Mortimer, had served in the Old Contemptibles in France, winning the Military Medal. Plans for a return visit from Mon- tauban are at an early stage. Maid- stone cannot twin with the French village as it is too large, but Hunton is considered a perfect match. Cllr Mortimer, who is ward councillor for Hunton, said the parish council was very interested in hosting a visit. “Whether both villages willwant


to take it further, we will have to see. I would like the friendship to continue because it has been lost for so many years. It’s a great, great story.”


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12 Maidstone Weald March 2017


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