April 24 2012.


St George's Day, was celebrated yesterday by the Seahaven Branch of 'The Royal Society of St George' with a special service at St. Andrew's Church, Alfriston, conducted by the Branch Chaplain, Revd David Farrant. This was followed by a formal dinner at Dean's Place Hotel.

There was considerable support from our civic dignitaries, headed by Mr Peter Field, Lord Lieutenant for East Sussex, with the new High Sheriff, Mr David Allam, as well Mrs Eileen Russell; Chair of Lewes District Council and the Mayors of four of the five towns in Lewes District; Seaford, Newhaven, Peacehaven and Telscombe. The Mayor of Lewes was the only one missing because of council business, but he was able to send his greetings.

In replying to the chairman's address of welcome, the Lord Lieutenant told the assembly about the county-wide arrangements for HM The Queen's Jubilee. Branch President, Don Mabey, praised the Dean's Place Hotel staff for producing a first class meal with the very best of service.

Each lady present received a gift of a Red Rose for England, supplied by Bishopstone Nurseries of Seaford.

The raffle raised over £180 for the Branch's funds, and this money will be used to buy gifts to help local worthwhile causes. Also the chairman, Bob Peedle MBE and his wife Maureen, put a special limited print of a painting by internationally renowned Alfriston Artist, the late Frank Wootton, OBE up for a blind auction. This raised over £120 which is being donated by the Branch to the Sue Godfrey Fund to help her nephew, Corporal Ben Stoten from Denton. Ben is currently in hospital in Birmingham following serious injury, losing both legs, whilst on operations in Afghanistan serving with our local Regiment, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. Ben, a local man was at school in Newhaven at Tideways School. Friends, relatives and many local groups are raising money to help with his rehabilitation.

One of the aims of 'The Royal Society of St George' is to encourage St. George's Day to be celebrated as England's National Day, to fly the flag and enjoy this special day. Chairman Bob Peedle said: "This year's St. George's day, for us, was one of the best, and with more people joining the society every month, next year's can only be even better. This year we received reassurance from all the councils in our area that England's flag will be flown on the day, and that is a step in the right direction."


Pictured above: The civic representatives at the St George's Dinner (left to right) Cllr John Livings and Helen Livings, (Telscombe), Norma Albrow and Cllr Phil Howson (Peacehaven), Cllr Eileen Russel (Chair LDC), Peter Field Lord Lieutenant, Don Mabey Branch Chairman, David Allam High Sheriff, Cllr Steve Saunders and Sharon Bewley (Newhaven) and Cllr Linda Wallraven and Liz Holland (Seaford).