Category: Community

On Friday 9 November all 850 students, staff, governors and guests gathered in the sports hall for an incredibly moving remembrance assembly. Co-ordinated by Mr Smith of the English Department, the assembly was led by our Head Boy, Nathan Booker, and Head Girl, Lydia Redman, with readings from other staff and students. Music from the school orchestra with playing of the last post by two students was led by guest Paul Hings (whom you may have seen later that weekend playing The Last Post on Match of the Day).

A huge crowd of 1,500 filled the field opposite the top of New Road, Kibworth. Yet again they witnessed a spectacular firework display from Hi5 Fireworks. “Better than last year” I heard many say. The money raised, approximately £3,000, will go to Scouts, Guides and Youth Groups locally. 

Foxton Society is putting on two exhibitions in the village during November. One in St Andrew’s Church, during Armistice Week, will give profiles and information on the Foxton men who died or served in the Great War, and another display in the Robert Monk Village Hall, over the Armistice weekend, will cover general wartime and Foxton history. 

The September meeting was an opportunity for members to make short presentations of their personal memories which illustrated how society has changed over the last 60 years. The members’ experiences covered a wide range of topics. 

Another amazing evening was spent in Smeeton Westerby at the beginning of July when, once again, The Oddfellows Brass Band came to the allotments to entertain us with their annual concert. This event really draws in the crowds and ,with the weather being so glorious, those crowds had increased in number.

Alex Whitehouse has received her Queen’s Guide Award. This is the highest award for Guiding members, developing skills while contributing to guiding and the local community. Work for the award includes service in guiding, an outdoor challenge, personal skill development, community action and a residential. Each section pushes boundaries and is no mean feat to complete. Not many achieve the award country wide and those that do go to London to have the award presented. 

Over the months since the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, the Chronicle has been telling the stories of local men who served their country. Some came back to the villages and their lives here; others did not return. As the generations go by, the longing to find out what happened to family members and to pay respect to their memory does not diminish. In June, Glyn Hatfield wrote about Harry Holyoak, one of the very first volunteers from Kibworth, and the discovery of his headstone in France. This month, we include the account that Hayley Welby gave at the memorial service at Burton Overy Church of how she was inspired to research her own family’s experiences in the Great War and to find the final resting places of her great-grandfather and two of his brothers.

Joseph, sitting in the higher chair above, was born at Mowsley in 1884. At the age of 7 he was living at Desford along with many other family members. At the time of the 1911 census Joseph’s mother, Eliza, is recorded as having been born at Shearsby. Joseph was a carrier, his sister, Sarah, a dressmaker and his brother, Edwin, a cabinet maker. There were three other children who had left home. His brother, Alfred, owned a bakery behind the cottages between Beaker Close and the church in Smeeton Westerby. Joseph’s father, also named Joseph had passed away earlier. He was also a carrier to markets.

Since the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, the Chronicle has recounted the experiences of local men who served their country. Some, like Maynard Ward and Len Capell, returned safely, though changed forever. Others, such as Harold Kirk and Tom Brutnell, did not return. Their families mourned them then and their loss is still felt today. Accounts of journeys to find out what grandfathers or great-uncles endured and where they are buried are often very poignant. As one writer says “The effects of war are like everlasting ripples in a pond. As the generations pass we will remember John and the sacrifice he made.”

Pictured above, The 'Royal Oak' at Smeeton Corner where Tom lived with his younger brother, Walter, and sisters, Ethel and Ida. The photo was taken by Alfonso Freeland, local chemist.