December 4th - Courtesy of The Cambs Times

No action against councillors who broke election law

POLICE are to take no action against a village election leaflet which broke election law.

The decision came this week after an eight-month investigation into the leaflet distributed to homes in Benwick during last May's parish council election campaign. Detectives were called in after retiring parish councillor, Howard Langford, complained to Fenland District Council that the leaflet, calling for votes for seven of the eight election candidates, omitted key information required by law.

Police carried out a series of witness interviews and put the case before the Crown Prosecution Service which decided the case should not go to court.The move has angered Mr Langford, a Benwick parish councillor for six years.

He said: "This was a flagrant breach of regulations. At the end of the day what is the point of having these rules if, when they are broken, they are not going to be followed up? This investigation cost a great deal of public money for nothing. Those involved are weathered councillors and ignorance is no defence."

Now Mr Langford plans to express his anger in a letter to Cambridgeshire's Chief Constable.

The leaflet, printed by election candidate Robert Taylor, failed to include reference to its producers and publishers which is required under the Representation of the People Act 1985. Penalties for breach of the law include a substantial fine.

But the chief prosecutor told police in a letter that Mr Taylor was "unaware of the electoral rule involved" and "once it was realised that there was a mistake on the sheets they were changed straight away".

November 20th - Courtesy of The Cambs Times

Tribute to saviour pilot

THE small crowd gathered beneath a blue and white striped awning by the side of a quiet Fenland village knew only Donald Roberts in death.

But all had cause to be grateful for his heroic action 14 years ago -- an action which claimed his life but saved the nearby village of Benwick as his crippled A10 Thunderbolt jet plunged into a field.

Captain Donald Roberts, married and with two children, was just 29 when his "selfless and brave act" claimed his life.

The tribute, paid by Lt Col Scott Claisti of the 423rd USAF Airborne Squadron, was one of many offered on Tuesday as a memorial to his life was dedicated at the spot where he died.

The memorial, by the side of Ibitsons Road, Benwick, together with a commemorative tree, will serve as a reminder of Capt Roberts' heroism.

Villagers who remembered the fateful day of the crash in April 1989 joined American and English air force personnel together with March ATC squadron.

Major Mike Heuer, chaplain to the 423rd squadron, said Capt Roberts had flown his aircraft "into this very field missing the nearby village of Benwick and quite possibly saving the lives of scores of schoolchildren and villagers. They might otherwise have died if he thought only of his own safety and ejected quickly.

"Captain Roberts personified our air force values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do."

The memorial was arranged after USAF personnel at Alconbury heard how a tree previously planted on the site had been damaged, probably by a tractor turning into the field.

Andrew Cade, chairman of Benwick Parish Council, said: "Many of us remember quite clearly the accident. The residents of Benwick will always be grateful. Captain Roberts paid the ultimate price for making sure his aircraft did not harm others."

Flt Lt Michael Eke, of March ATC, provided part of the honour guard and he read to guests an extract from the story about the accident in the Cambs Times of April 21 1989.

He said although "time has healed it has not erased the memory of the day Capt Roberts lost his life here". Lt Claisti recalled eyewitness accounts which spoke of the aircraft "banking hard to avoid the village".

He said the motto 'I give up my todays so that you may enjoy your tomorrows' may well have been the quote ringing in the mind of Captain Roberts on that day. He said Captain Roberts' actions did not go unnoticed by those around the memorial, and added: "It does not go unappreciated by the residents, and it does not go unnoticed by US airmen of all ages and ranks.

"Words fail in his comparison to his deeds."

Guests attending included Arthur and Beryl Lea of March, whose daughter Barbara Nicholas lived at the time in a nearby bungalow.

"It was dreadful," said Mrs Lea. "I still remember all those little fires where parts of the plane had split up." Mr Lea said his daughter had later welcomed Capt Roberts' widow and children to stay at the bungalow, and on Tuesday was representing the family at the dedication service.

October 23rd - Courtesy of The Cambs Times

Tree replanted for Airman

A HORSE chestnut tree planted in Benwick in honour of an American pilot has finally been replaced after it was knocked down by a combine Harvester.

Flt Lt Michael Eke, commanding officer of the 1220 (March) Squadron Air Training Corps, got in touch with Chatteris based C & G Coaches who agreed to pay for a new tree.

Representatives from both groups met on Saturday to plant the new tree, along with former Benwick resident Barbara Nicholas, who originally alerted the Cambs Times to the broken tree earlier this year.

Capt Donald Roberts, 29, died when the A10 Thunderbolt aircraft he was flying crashed next to a field in Benwick in April 1989.

An official blessing ceremony has been arranged for November 18, when the 1220 squadron will join an honour party from the American Airforce at 11am for a ceremony, during which the tree will be blessed.

Benwick residents are welcome to attend the event, and should also be advised that Ibbersons road, where the memorial sits, will be closed for an hour.

October 23rd - Courtesy of The Cambridge Evening News

It's lighting up time

A RETIRED couple from the Fenland village of Benwick, near March, are already two weeks into their Christmas preparations.

This is 10th year that Tony and Myrtle Cranwell, who are both 65 and live in Ramsey Road, have put Christmas lights and decorations up outside their house.

With thousands more lights and decorations still to put up, the couple still have a further three weekends and a full week of work before the big switch-on, on Saturday, November 29.

Mrs Cranwell, a former school cook, said: "The first year we started with just a Father Christmas and three reindeer but it keeps growing each year."

The display has raised funds for the MRI scanner at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and last year more than £900 was raised for Macmillan Cancer Relief following the death of Mrs Cranwell's mother, Doris Hempsall, from lung cancer. This year's display will raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Care.

Neighbours Tony and Kathleen Green also decorate their house to raise funds for local charities.

Last year they raised money for the Pidley Mountain Rescue Team and donated more than £700 to a local boy who needed a new wheelchair.

October 16th - Courtesy of the Cambs Times

Pilot's memorial tree to be replanted

A TREE planted in Benwick 14 years ago in memory of a dead fighter pilot will be replaced tomorrow (Saturday) after it was discovered severely damaged by the side of the road.

Captain Donald Roberts, 29, was killed when the A10 Thunderbolt jet he was flying crashed into a field in April 1989.

His family flew over from New York to join local residents and councillors in a special memorial, and a horse chestnut tree was planted in the young soldier's memory on the edge of a field near Ibbersons Drove.

But in August former Benwick resident Barbara Nicholas got in touch with the Cambs Times to say that the tree, which she helped to plant, had been broken in two.

When March 1220 Air Training Corps Squadron leader Flt Lt Michael Eke heard about the story, he decided he wanted to do something to help.

"We played a part in the original ceremony so it meant a lot to us to be able to find a replacement for the tree," he said.

Cadets will join representatives from local coach company C and G coaches, which has agreed to pay for the new tree, at the site of the crash at 11am tomorrow.

The sapling will be planted along side a new wooden cross and memorial area which was erected recently by RAF officers at Lakenheath, and an official ceremony and blessing will take place later in the year.

October 3rd - Courtesy of the Cambs Times

Catch 22 for new church

CHURCH leaders are hopeful of resolving a Catch 22 over plans to sell two building plots to fund a new place of worship in Benwick.

Ely Diocese has applied for permission to turn a strip of land into two plots for detached family homes.

Initial feedback shows Fenland planners are wary of giving permission for homes until work has started on the church.

But a letter to Fenland planners from project surveyors, Jolliffe, warns that: "There will be no place of worship built unless the funds from the sale are available to pay for the church construction.

"It's essential that the application for this is determined so that the site can be disposed of and the funds applied to the building of the new church."

Friends of Benwick Church have raised £80,000 towards the construction money pot and the Methodist church is earmarked for sale.

A building committee is due to meet next week to agree final plans and a working budget.

Rev Glen Coggins said: "A new church for Benwick has been on the back burner for many years now so its exciting to see some real plans put forward.

"Friends of Benwick have done a sterling job and continue to remain active.

"Money has also been promised from Methodist church central funding, so with the sale of the two plots we are really getting up to a realistic build figure.

"Everything that has been raised locally either through fund-raising or sale of the plots will benefit the people of Benwick," he said.

Permission is being sought to build two detached homes with garages on a strip of land off Whittlesey Road in the village.

Once they have been sold it will release money to start building a brand new church on the site of the old Baptist Chapel in the High Street near the Five Alls pub.

The Peterborough-based firm of surveyors says the problem could be better solved by adding a condition into planning consent preventing occupation of the houses until a contract to build the church has been entered into.

August 23rd - Courtesy of The Cambs Times

Tree Damage Threat to Village Memorial

A HORSE chestnut tree planted in Benwick 14 years ago in memory of an American pilot, whose plane crashed in the village, has become shrouded in mystery after it was discovered broken in two along the roadside.

Capt Donald Roberts was killed when his A10 Thunderbolt jet crashed into a field near Ibbersons Drove and burst into flames on April 17, 1989.

His family flew over from New York to join local residents and councillors in a special memorial service, and a tree was planted in the young soldier's memory, next to a plaque and wooden cross on the edge of the field where he died.

But on Monday former Benwick resident Barbara Nicholas called the Cambs Times to tell us that the tree, which she helped to plant, had been chopped in half.

"I don't get to visit the tree very much since I moved out of the area, but I still place a wreath there every Christmas and on Sunday I returned to make sure I had remembered to remove it," said Mrs Nicholas, now of March.

Her first thought upon seeing the tree was that it had been vandalised, but on closer inspection a more likely explanation for the damage was that it had been hit by a vehicle.

She said: "I feel very upset because 14 years worth of growth is now gone. It is very symbolic for the family and we hoped it would be an ever-lasting memory for them. I will tell them what has happened and I just hope that the tree can be replaced."