THE DEPUTY leader of the Thurrock Conservatives has tabled a motion that calls for a park in Thurrock to be names after King George V1.
Cllr Hebb’s motion is as follows:
“Thurrock Council resolves to thank HM The Queen, for her selflessness and grace as monarch of the United Kingdom for 65 years, and it thanks her for her years of dedicated public service and advocacy of our great nation.
“In the spirit in which HM The Queen has herself taken with the Sapphire Jubilee, this council also seeks to recognise the memory of our former monarch George VI, for his unwavering patriotism during our nation’s darkest hours. This council therefore resolves to rename a suitable park within the borough to be identified after public consultation – to the George VI Memorial Park in honour of the former King and his years of service to our country.
It will be debated on Wednesday March 22nd.
Cllr Hebb, I commend your resolution and hope it will receive unanimous support. I was three years old when he succeeded to the throne and nineteen years old when he died on February 6th 1952. I believe he is the most under rated monarch in recent history. His selfless devotion to his duties as King and the example he set during the years of WW2 deserves far more recognition than he has thus far received. I would suggest that he is also worthy of a statue in the park.
In agreement with Peter but my concerns are how would such a memorial be treated in modern, cosmopolitan Thurrock, (1) anti socialites and drug users find a haven in such places, so if any statue was defaced or damaged how would we feel then and (2) many of the ethnic majority now living in Thurrock many having no interest in or knowledge of the history of our great island, so in time all the efforts to highlight the memory of such a great man could be lost forever and not get the respect he fully deserves.