Christchurch Park ‘There but not there’ memorials Graham Smith visited Christchurch Park on 11 October to view and photograph the three silhouettes as featured in the local press. ‘Unfortunately but, sadly, understandably they have not been left out and will not be on display outside until Armistice Day. A member of staff kindly placed one outside for me to photograph and here is my photograph.’

Five life-sized silhouettes of British ‘Tommies’ have been placed in the town – three in Christchurch Park and two in the cemeteries – to remind people of the deaths of the 888,246 British and Commonwealth men of the First World War.

‘There But Not There’ is the 2018 Armistice project for the charity Remembered. The inspiration was photographer Martin Barraud’s art installation of 51 clear perspex silhouettes to honour dead servicemen at the village church in Penshurst in 2016.

 

Banks

6,000 banks have closed since 2010.  This has left some small towns, not only without a bank but without a rationale for existing; market towns that no longer have a market, postal towns without a Post Office and residential centres without a pub (in Ipswich 33 pubs have closed in the last decade).

That Needham Market is amongst them is surprising because one of the forerunners of Barclays Bank had its origins there. The Bank of Alexander & Co. was opened at Needham Market in 1744, an Ipswich Branch in 1767 (which became their head office in 1804).  In 1878 the firm amalgamated with Gurney & Co. of Norwich who had founded a regular bank about 1770 as the Norwich & Norfolk Bank. In 1896 the joint Alexander and Gurney Banks joined Barclays to become the banking giant we know today.

 

Ipswich Transport Museum

Visitor numbers at the Ipswich Transport Museum were up again this year reaching almost 10,000 visitors. This is a tremendous effort by all of the ITM volunteers who collectively make the museum such a worthwhile destination in the portfolio of Ipswich visitor attractions.

 

The National Health Service has more vacancies than the Army has personnel.’

Major CJ (Chris) St John-Green RAMC speaking to the Ipswich Society about Emergency Planning in October 2018.

 

In 1641 the Great Court of Ipswich decided to bring water to a conduit on the Cornhill.

“I see it has finally arrived” (courtesy Mr John Norman).