Reclusive widow Mary Marley hid the dead body of her lover in his bedroom for more than two years because of her fear of authority, it was revealed.
Police broke into Mrs Marley’s maisonette in Seabrooke Rise, Grays, on Monday afternoon after concerned neighbours called police, having not seen the widow for days. Officers found Mrs Marley’s body slumped on her sofa where it had been for about a week.
A decision was made to have a civic flag for Thurrock to fly over the new Civic Offices in New Road, Grays, it was reported. The actual logo for the flag had not been agreed, however, with three options having already been rejected. Cllr Ann Geaney remarked that it “must have been poignantly obvious to us all at the time Arthur Barnes died that we really needed a flag which represented the borough”. Cllr Barnes was one of the longest serving councillors at the time of his death.
The cost of the proposed flag was reported to be £350 for one flag or around £500 for two.
THERE WAS a certain symbolism that as we started to roll our cameras to film a piece on the sixtieth anniversary of the Tilbury floods, the heavens opened. Of course, Thurrock historian, Jonathan Catton reminded us that it wasn't raining sixty years ago, it was all about a massive tidal surge in the Thames and in the North Sea.
MEMBERS of the Thurrock community gathered together to remember the holocaust and each person that suffered at the hands of the Nazi's. The ceremony in the Culver Centre on Sunday (Jan 27th) was part of World Holocaust Day and was attended by Thurrock MP, Jackie Doyle-Price, deputy leader of Thurrock Council, cllr Val Morris-Cook, leader of the Conservative group, cllr Phil Anderson.
At 11am, a boat will be rowed ashore to the civic square. At 3pm. meet at the Tilbury Riverside Centre for a riverside walk with guide, tea and biscuits. Tickets £3. At 7pm. Meet at the TRAAC for a torch light walk by riverside with guide followed by Memories Flooding Back-talk by Jonathan Catton.Tickets £5.
Thurrock does a lot for charity as illustrated by a host of MacMillan Coffee mornings. The UKIP councillor Robert Ray continued to impress with his ward work in Aveley. Opportunity Thurrock was a one-stop careers fair for schools which was a great success. The Chafford Hundred Community Cookbook was launched.
The Olympic torch came through Thurrock and 25,000 people turned out to see it.
The Thurrock music scene continued to be strong. Many singers appeared at Your Voice, bands took to the stage at T Fest as well as bands such as All at Sea and individual artists such as Arthur Walwin. The fire service dispute became even more acrimonious after a young firebreak cadet was "barred" from a passing out parade.
T Fest came early due to the Olympics but it did not disappoint with two days of entertainment. For your information, our film of X Factor star, Janet Devlin has had 35,000 views since then! The borough celebrated the Diamond Jubilee with a whole host of events. The State Cinema was put up for sale. Corringham writer Kenny Emson penned his first edition of East Enders.
THE first murmurings of Petroplus were in trouble started. By the middle of the year, they would close. A report exposed how few Thurrock students went on to university. Only thirty students went to the Russell Group of universities compared to 1963 from Surrey. We said farewell to young Bridie Philpott from Chadwell who was struck down with Batten's Disease at a very young age.
Thurrock Local History Society
Walking the Mardyke
by John Matthews
John Matthews, local historian, opened the November meeting by declaring that there is a lot of history...
NEARLY 60 years ago the east coast of England and the Thames Estuary was struck by horrendous flooding. The night of 31 January/1 February 1953 saw the most recent large coastal flood in Europe, claiming a total of 2,100 lives, most on the Continent.
THE COMMUNITY OF CHAFFORD gathered at Warren primary school to pay tribute to all those who had fallen during two world wars and many other conflicts. Organised by South Chafford councillors, Tunde Ojetola and Charlie Key, the memorial took the form of a parade from the Warren to Kershaw Close, where there is a memorial to 2nd Lt Samuel E Kershaw whose plane crashed there on February 21st 1945.
THURROCK remembers the memory of the fallen very well. It does it with dignity and a sense of compassion. There is a memorial on Saturday at 11am at the Rectory Road memorial in Orsett. At 9.20 am on Sunday, councillors will lay wreaths in Little Thurrock.
Jennifer Ward, the October guest speaker, gave a detailed account of the parish church and its influence on life in the Middle Ages. The Pope was the head of the church and the bishops and priests ensured that the parishioners followed the tenets of the Christian faith.
THURROCK Local History Society, inaugurated in 1952, celebrated its 60 years on Thursday 25th October, with an anniversary dinner held in the Gold Room at Orsett Hall.
The Chairman Susan Yates welcomed the Mayor of Thurrock, Councillor Yash Gupta, MP Jackie Doyle-Price and Deputy Mayor Tony Fish as honoured guests, together with Patrons of the Society, John Webb and Christopher Harrold. Also present were the Heritage and Museum Officer, Jonathan Catton and Chairman of the Heritage Forum, Mike Ostler.
