News

THERE was an impressive turnout for the start of Thurrock’s Remembrance season when St Stephen’s Church, played host to a ceremony organised by the nearby Purfleet Military Museum and Heritage Centre on Sunday.

Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price and Mayor Cllr Cathy Kent led the wreath-laying during the service led by the Rev Alan Hudson. A large numbers of members of the Thurrock Nepalese community, many of them former Ghurkhas, were present.

A number of other councillors and dignitaries and representatives of other local organisations were also present and laid wreaths. Particularly poignant was a wreath which was hand -made and laid at the memorial by members of Purfleet Cubs.

Re-enactment soldiers mounted a guard of honour and the Last Post and Reveille was played by a lone bugler. The names of all those lost in action from Purfleet were read out.

Heritage Centre founder and chairman Alan Gosling said: “It was another memorable service, particularly so as it was in the 100th anniversary year of the Somme campaign.
We were blessed with some great weather and I would like to thank everyone who attended and supported the event, particularly Ensignbus who once again provided us with a vintage bus for those who couldn’t walk in the parade from the centre to the war memorial and also bikers and members of the re-enactment group who did their usual sterling service.”

ग्रेट ब्रीटेनको प्रतिनिधित्व गरेर हाम्रो नेपालीले सिल्भर मेडल
अप्टन पार्क, इष्ट लण्डन निवासी Thurrock Nepalese Gurkha Community (TNGC) का सदस्य देउमान लिङ्देन लिम्बूको छोरी सिएना लिङ्देन 1st WTF World Cadet Taekwondo Championships मा दोस्रो भएकी छिन : विश्व कै दोस्रो ! वधाई छ उनीलाई साथै बाबुआमालाई पनि ।

"TURKEY GRABS 2 GOLDS, 1 BRONZE ON 3RD DAY OF 1ST WTF WORLD CADET TAEKWONDO CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BAKU, AZERBAIJAN

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 26, 2014) --- Turkey clinched two gold medals and one bronze medal on the third day of the 1st WTF World Cadet Taekwondo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan on July 26, 2014.

Chinese Taipei, Korea and Iran won one gold medal each, while Russia earned two silvers and one bronze. France took one silver and one bronze, while the Great Britain and Finland won one silver each.

The United States got two bronze medals, while Canada, Croatia, Moldova, Ukraine and Mexico clinched one bronze each on the third day of competition.

The inaugural WTF World Cadet Taekwondo Championships, which are for the youth aged between 12 and 14, take place at the National Gymnastic Arena in downtown Baku, drawing a total of 574 athletes from 65 countries.



In the female -47kg final match, Chinese Taipei's Guan Jie Wu came from behind to beat the Great Britain's Siena Limbu Lingden 7-2 to earn her country the gold medal. In the same division, the bronze went to Turkey's Sefa Ceren Koyuncu and Russia's Olga Kameneva.

In the female -51kg category, Turkey's Tugba Yilmaz brushed aside a stiff challenge from her final-match opponent, France's Imen Ben Hassine, to win the final match 6-2 for the gold medal. Canada's Denise Laghayi and Croatia's Ana Taslak shared the bronze medal in the same weight division. . . . . . . . ."

Park tennis court reopened
   News From Thurrock Gazette
Thursday 2nd Augast 2012


 

Cllr Yash Gupta at the reopening

THURROCK mayor Yash Gupta opened a newly revamped tennis court in Grays Town Park.
The court, which was in such a bad state it was no longer usable, was refurbished using money from developers’ contributions.
The new court has proved a big hit and has already hosted a tournament, where council staff and locals competed.

Shadow defence minister rallies the troops in Thurrock
From Your Thurrock

SHADOW defence minister, Jim Murphy visited Thurrock on Thursday. The personable shadow minister first
spoke to Gurkhas, members of Bomber Command and representatives from the British Legion in Grays shopping centre.
He was accompanied by the prospective parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party, Polly Billington.
Mr Murphy addressed the assembled veterans by pointing to nearby shop “Supercuts” and told them: “There is
nothing super about the cuts being imposed by the government.”
YT spoke to Mr Murphy about the issues affecting serving soldiers as well as veterans.

RAF veteran digs deep for Gurkhas
Thursday 21st May 2009
By Emma Palmer                 

Dharmanbikram Sanwar thanks Alec Milne

A PENSIONER was so moved by the plight of the Gurkhas he has given £1,000 from his own pocket to help the hundreds of Nepalese soldiers and their families. Alec Milne, 74, from Basildon, made the donation because he thinks the Gurkhas have got a “bum deal” when it comes to their controversial handling by the Government. Mr Milne, a former RAF engineer, served with a regiment of Gurkhas when he was stationed in Singapore in the Sixties.
                                              He said: “I read a feature about the Thurrock Gurkhas in the Echo, and it really touched me to see what they were going through. “I just wanted to do something to show them we do care. “They’ve got a bum deal by this Government. “When I was in Singapore, it was the Gurkhas’ job to protect our air base. I remember them as the most professional soldiers you could wish to work with – they had a job to do and you could be sure they would do it.” Netra Limbu, secretary of the Thurrock Nepalese and Gurkha Community, told Mr Milne: “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. “We have had so much support and this is a fantastic donation.
                  This has made us very proud and happy.” The donation will go towards buying sporting equipment and organising events for the group’s youth organisation. And the group’s chairman, Dharmanbikram Sanwar, told Mr Milne: “We would like to make you an honorary member of our association in recognition of this donation. “We are so grateful for your support.” As a thank you, Mr Milne was also presented with a formidable khukuri, a curved knife which is synonymous with the valour of Gurkha soldiers. The famous knife is carried by Gurkhas in battle, and it was said that once a khukuri was drawn in battle, it had to “taste blood” – if not, its owner had to cut himself before returning it to its sheath. Gurkhas have faced a drawn out fight to get better settlement and pension rights for some time.
                     However Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to do a U-turn later today and announce that all Gurkhas who have served with the British Army can remain in the UK. Netra added: “We will have something to celebrate once the Prime Minister makes his announcement – fingers crossed.” Billericay MP John Baron, who was in the Army for 15 years, added: “I served with the Gurkhas, and they deserve all of our support. The Prime Minister got this so wrong. “Anyone who serves in the armed forces and risks their lives for this country should be allowed to stay.”

Nepalese celebration at Chadwell Grays Essex

MEMBERS of around 100 families that make up Thurrock's Nepalese community celebrated their national Dashain celebration with a party at Chadwell St Mary's Village Hall.
Many dressed in their colourful national costume for an evening of dance and entertainment, with guests from the local community including MP Andrew Mackinlay and representatives of the Royal British Legion.
  Also in attendance as Thurrock's hate crime liaison officer PC Tess Wisby and Thurrock Gazette editor Neil Speight.

     "This was a wonderful evening. A real opportunity to celebrate with our Nepalese friends, a community who through their service with the Gurkha regiment have contributed so much to this country.
     "It was a delight and an honour to be invited to spend a wonderful, colourful evening with them," said Mr Mackinlay.

Gurkhas say hello to wider community

THE High Sheriff of Essex met with Thurrock’s Nepalese Gurkha community as part of a Home Office initiative entitled "Not in my neighbourhood week".
They met at the Thurrock Asian Association headquarters in Clarence Road, Grays. The initiative is a joint effort between Essex Police and local councils to enable them to speak to members of the public and get feedback on local concerns. Nepalese Gurkhas have played a pivotal role in the British armed forces over many years. Despite this they have only recently been given the right to live in Britain. Secretary of Thurrock Nepalese Gurkha community and Falklands war veteran, Netra Limbu, said: “In the Thurrock area we have around 400 Gurkha families who started arriving here three years ago.
           “It can be hard to communicate but our English is improving. “We’d like to thank the High Sheriff for meeting with us and hope to work with the Police and Council. “Some of the younger generation still don’t know who we are and we’d like to change that by introducing ourselves to the community.” High Sheriff of Essex Mrs Sarah Courage, said: "I think the Gurkha community are something we should all be very proud of. They have given their all for this country. “I have the greatest respect for them."

Praise for Nepalese students

          Thurrock Adult Community College had a special presentation for Thurrock's Nepalese community. Eleven students received certificates as they passed different stages of their English qualifications. The certificate presentation was made by Portfolio Holder for Culture and Diversity, councillor Gareth Davies who said: "This is a fantastic achievement for the Nepalese community in Thurrock.

          They should all be very proud of themselves." College principal Sharon Walsh said: "All the students have been very brave taking on the challenge of learning a new language. They have done really well and I know they will continue to learn."