AUSCHWITZ survivor, Leslie Kleinman is a remarkable man. Mr Kleinman has been coming to the school for several years now to bear witness to what he survived.
On Thursday, the students from Grays Convent, Gateway Academy, William Edwards, Ormiston Park, Harris Academy as well as staff from Thurrock Council and Trust reflected on their experiences at the Thameside Theatre.
HISTORY is a booming industry in Tilbury and Chadwell ever since the Tilbury Riverside Project got the green light to develop a reminiscence project for the area. YT dropped in on a research seminar down in Tilbury co-presented by Thurrock Council's heritage officer Jonathan Catton and Essex County Council.
The main service was in Grays. It was led by Rev Darren Barlow from St Peters and St Pauls church.
Once again, it was a seamless service, perfectly pitched and superbly organised. The most poignant site was the presence of private Alex Stringer who some months ago returned from Afghanistan with terrible injuries.
ON SATURDAY, THE BBC asked the country to record what they were doing as part of a mass observation project. They will take all the video footage and weave it into a documentary to be published on the BBC in 2012. YourThurrock has been making films every day for over three years.
IT IS NOW quite a tradition at Lakeside and quite a site to behold as at 11am, the whole shopping centre falls silent in order to pay their respects to those who gave their life for this country. And it is a credit to people who all respect the tradition. Over at Grays war memorial, the cars slowed down as they drove past the memorial, young drivers turned down their radios.
THE PEOPLE OF South Ockendon fell silent this morning to pay their respects to the fallen of the first world war and the other conflicts around the world. The event led by the British Legion and members of the South Ockendon community was marked by silence as well as a lone piper, and two poetry recitations.
IT IS something that the borough does particularly well. On Sunday, all across the borough, people will attend remembrance services and stand to attention to mark their respects for those who have given their lives in service of their country.
IT IS a simple idea and yet such an effective way of disseminating history. Speed-history. Several senior residents of Thurrock sit at a table in the hall. The students are divided into groups and they spend ten minutes in the company of the resident, listening to their war-time experiences.
Can you imagine being down by the shore in Brixham, Devon and witnessing the Golden Hind being eviscerated; can you imagine seeing the Cutty Sark being ripped up in Greenwich or the Britannia being melted down in Leith Docks?
THURROCK Museum have put together a series of picture postcards to showcase and chronicle the history of Orsett.
It is a fascinating glimpse into the past. As you go through the postcards, Orsett looks the same but it is the little things that are not there anymore.
Project members will welcome visitors from 11am to 4pm. There will be an opportunity to meet and chat to past workers and inhabitants of the BATA estate. Many of the visitors will be returning to East Tilbury after several years away. Why not come and find an old friend ?
THIS summer, members and friends enjoyed several excursions including the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, near Cambridge, Lullingstone Roman Villa and 500-year-old Knole House in Kent, early home of Vita Sackville-West, and finally Brooklands Motoring and Aviation Museum in Surrey.
