VICTORIA CROSS PRESENTED TO NEW LIVERPOOL MUSEUM

ON Friday 9 October 2009, curators of the new Museum of Liverpool were presented with a rare and historical item to add to the museum’s ever growing collection of urban history objects dedicated to telling the story of Liverpool and its significance throughout the world.

The object, a Victoria Cross (VC), is the highest order of military decoration awarded to members of the armed forces for gallantry and bravery in the face of the enemy. It was presented to Sergeant David Jones of the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment on 3 September 1916 for an act of bravery he performed while serving in the First World War at Guillemont France*.

Then aged 25, Sgt David Jones was sadly killed in action at Bancourt in the Somme just over a month later on 7 October 1916, and his family later presented the VC to Jones’s former employer J Blake & Co Motor Company, who have now donated the medal to National Museums Liverpool’s permanent collections.

Karen O’Rourke, curator of social history for the Museum of Liverpool said:- “We are delighted that Sgt Jones’s Victoria Cross has been donated to our permanent collection, particularly as he was a Kingsman and National Museums Liverpool maintain the Regimental collection on their behalf.”

The Victoria Cross was presented to curators by Norman Silk, trustee of J Blake & Co, with Captain Michael Hunt, Colonel Martin Amlôt and four soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment in attendance at the new Museum of Liverpool site on Liverpool’s Pier Head.

The medal will initially be on display in the People’s City gallery when the museum opens in 2011, as part of a First World War exhibition. It will also be a key item in the City Soldiers gallery, opening in Phase Three of the Museum of Liverpool schedule, focusing on the long history of the King’s Regiment and its relationship with the city.

Karen continues:- “Past visitors may remember the City Soldiers exhibition on display in the old Museum of Liverpool Life which focused on the history of the King’s Regiment in Liverpool. The city owes a lot to the men and women of the Regiment, who fought in past wars and continue to fight around the world today. It is very important they are represented in this museum, which is dedicated to the history of their home.”

Sgt David Jones’s medal was previously on long term loan to National Museums Liverpool, and on display in the Museum of Liverpool Life between 2000 and 2006. It is one of four Victoria Crosses in NML’s collection of campaign and gallantry medals from the King’s Regiment, including a VC belonging to Arthur Herbert Procter; the first soldier to be decorated with the Victoria Cross on the battlefield.

Hundreds of the medals from the collection - which amounts to over 1,000 - will go display in the new Museum of Liverpool’s City Soldiers exhibition, supported by an interactive facility which will allow visitors to learn more about the medals’ history and the service men and women they were awarded to.

Other related website links:-

victoriacross.org.uk - Wikipedia.org -liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.

* Extract from the London Gazette, No. 29802 dated 24 October 1916:- “For most conspicuous bravery, devotion to duty, and ability displayed in the handling of his platoon. The platoon to which he belonged was ordered to a forward position, and during the advance came under heavy machine gun fire, the officer being killed and the platoon suffering heavy losses Serjt. Jones led-forward the remainder, occupied the position, and held it for two days and two nights without food or water, until relieved. On the second day he drove back three counter-attacks, inflicting heavy losses. His coolness was most praiseworthy. It was due entirely to his resource and example that his men retained confidence and held their post.”

Pedal Power Raises Funds for Children

THE Children Today Charitable Trust are offering you the chance to take part in one of our spring biking challenges, to cycle from London to Paris.  Children Today are a small but national charity that relies entirely on donations. The much needed funds raised from this amazing journey will go towards providing specialised equipment for disabled and sick children up to the age of 25 living throughout the UK.    This five day 450km challenge promises to take you through some of the most stunning scenery that rural England and France have to offer. Your first day begins in London then takes you through rural Kent and along country roads to Dover covering a distance of 125km. You arrive in Calais to cycle past beautiful rivers and market towns after 120km of cycling you arrive in Abbeville, where a well earned rest will be had. You will travel 110km in the direction of Amiens, past many historical World War I battle fields and come to rest in the town of Beauvais. From here you will cycle the final 95km as you will follow the River Seine towards your finishing line – the iconic Eiffel Tower. The cycle takes place 3 June 2009 to 7 June 2009 or 1 July 2009 to 5 July 2009. All you need to do is pay a £99 registration fee and raise a minimum sponsorship of £1,300. For further information and to request a registration and fundraising pack please contact Ceri at Children Today on:- 01244 335622 or via emailing:- ceri@childrentoday.org.uk.

NEW BRITISH BID FOR EUROPEAN PRESIDENCY

THE consumer campaigner Arlene McCarthy MEP is warning consumers to beware of misleading websites that are charging £10.00 for a free government service. Local Labour Euro MP, Arlene McCarthy said:- “These websites have set up addresses almost identical to the government site for ordering a free European Health Insurance Card but are charging £10.00 for this free service. I am also concerned that they come up as a sponsored link at the top of the search page for anyone looking for information about the EHIC on Google, Yahoo and MSN. It is outrageous that people are being charged by these sites for a service that is provided for free by the NHS. I have written to the health minister demanding that action is taken against these misleading sites. Consumers should know that the European Health Insurance Card is free and valid for five years.”

 NEW BRITISH BID FOR EUROPEAN PRESIDENCY

THE competition to recruit the first full time president of the European Council will take an unusual new turn on Wednesday, 14 October 2009, when a North West Euro-MP declares his candidature.  The Liberal Democrat Chris Davies has written to each of Europe’s 27 heads of government to say that he believes his qualifications for the job are as good as other candidates suggested so far and that he is available for interview.  And in a swipe against former UK prime minister Tony Blair, the MEP argues that he has never deceived a parliament or been responsible for the illegal invasion of another country. Davies hopes that his tongue-in-cheek bid for the presidency will highlight how limited is the circle of individuals said to be in the running for Europe’s top job.  With the person selected likely to have a major role in shaping the EU’s future direction, the MEP says that candidates should be required to set out their positions and indicate publicly what will be their personal priorities if they are selected.  Davies said:- “The backroom manoeuvrings now taking place are a very poor substitute for an open selection process. We have millions of talented people in Europe, and more than half of them are women, so why is the recruitment net not being cast wider? European citizens should be told whether this is just a beauty contest for middle aged males or a professional recruitment exercise intended to select the best person for the job, someone with ideas about how to shape Europe’s future.”  The MEP says that he had been encouraged to put forward his name by Sir Cyril Smith, the former heavyweight MP for Rochdale in the North West of England, who had told him to push open every closed door he could find.