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All our members will have already received our special BCS Autumn Newsletter commemorating the statue unveiling through the post. For those of you that have not yet joined our Society ( and of course you should!) Here is a PDF of this latest newsletter for you to read.  Just click on the link below.
Bewdley Civic Society special statue Autumn newsletter

DUKE OF GLOUCESTER UNVEILS STATUE OF BRITISH STATESMAN, STANLEY BALDWIN

 

 

On 27 September, the historic town of Bewdley in Worcestershire was honoured by a visit from His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester., KG. 

 

His Royal Highness unveiled a newly completed statue of Stanley Baldwin, the first Earl Baldwin of Bewdley KG (1867-1947), three times Prime Minister during the inter-war years, who represented Bewdley in the House of Commons for nearly thirty years.

 

During his lifetime, Stanley Baldwin was regarded as one of Worcestershire’s two leading sons, the other being Sir Edward Elgar. He is recalled by all with deep affection in Worcestershire, which was well-known to His Royal Highness in his role as Chancellor of the University of Worcester.

 

There are public memorials to Stanley Baldwin at Westminster. Now he is represented permanently in his own county of Worcestershire among “my people”, as he referred to them.

Stanley Baldwin founded the Lord Baldwin Fund for Refugees raising some £500,000 to bring Jewish children (Kindertransportees) from Nazi Germany to Great Britain where they were placed with foster parents. Locally Stanley Baldwin became the first President of Stourport-on-Severn Workmen’s Club where he is still revered to this day. He was also the first President of The Bewdley Civic Society.

 

Baldwin was profoundly affected by the First World War and the sacrifices made  during it by the men and women of his own county, and those of his country as a whole. In 1919 he gave a fifth of his wealth anonymously to the Treasury as a thank-offering on the conclusion of the peace treaties with Germany. He said that, to honour those who died, “we must live for each other, and not for ourselves.”

As Prime Minister he represented what came to be known as a “new conservatism”. Its central features were consensus, compassion and national unity. He detested class conflict and coined the term “One Nation”(wrongly ascribed to Disraeli), making spending on social services the largest item of government expenditure for the first time.

 

Widely read (Rudyard Kipling was his cousin), he was an inspired broadcaster in the early days of the BBC, adopting a relaxed, conversational style to stress the things that bound the nation together.

He venerated the Crown as the essential symbol of national unity. His skilful handling of the 1936 abdication crisis, which brought him immense praise, enabled the monarchy to survive its greatest crisis of modern times without damage.

 

Donations from many individuals and institutions made it possible to commission one of the country’s leading sculptors, Martin Jennings, to create the magnificent statue in bronze which His Royal Highness unveiled. The successful fund-raising campaign by Bewdley Civic Society was overseen by a dedicated committee which included the Society’s President, Mrs Andrew Grant, Great Granddaughter of Stanley Baldwin, and The Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, Baldwin’s Grandson and Richard Perrin, Chairman of Bewdley Civic Society.

You may wish to see the following:

1. Video of Beatrice Grant’s speech at the launch of the fundraising campaign at Hagley Hall by kind permission of The Viscount Cobham relating to Stanley Baldwin as a family man - https://youtu.be/aFpX0qduPIg    

2. Andrew Grant speech at the Hope and Glory fundraising dinner on the 29th November 2017 at West Midlands Safari Park - http://www.andrew-grant.co.uk/uploads/Stanley-Baldwin-Hope-and-Glory-Dinner-Speech.pdf

3. Lord Lexden’s speech to mark the 150th anniversary of Stanley Baldwin’s birth given at The Carlton Club in the summer 2017 - http://www.andrew-grant.co.uk/uploads/Lord-Lexden-Speech-28.08.18.pdf

Gladman Developments Appeal is rejected.
This property speculator’s proposal to build 195 homes on land adjacent to The Lakes Road, Bewdley has been rejected and will now NOT happen.  

Watch this space for a full report.

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Like gardens and gardening? Click on this link for Bewdley’s
 best gardening club

Local Plan

Checkout the Plan at www.wyreforestdc.gov.uk/local and also the Civic Society’s response to the Local Plan Review in the  Autumn 2017 Newsletter. Click here for the Newsletter — Our Autumn Newsletter

Of special concern are the inclusion of certain core greenfield sites adjacent to Highclere, Stourport road and Habberley road which are identified in the District Plan despite their removal from our own Town Council’s Neighbourhood Plan following their recent public consultation.  

The latest news update on the situation will be available here shortly.    

We have Excellent range of informative DVDs for sale.

Just click HERE to see the wide ranging selection.

Then click on HERE to display the order form & print it.

Please send the completed order form and a cheque made out to Bewdley Civic Society to -
Sharon Harvey,
Flat 11,
The Manor House,
High Street,
Bewdley.
DY12 2DJ

Ring or email Sharon (see order form) if you would like more details about the vidoes prior to purchasing.