23/07/04

My brother-in-law Pilot Officer George William Walker DFC also stayed with his "gunner" when his plane was hit; although he had the option to escape, and they both lost their lives. He was serving with the 420 Squadron RCAF from Tholthorpe in Yorkshire. There is a plaque in his memory in the Hanover War Cemetery in Germany.

I am now 82 years of age and served my country as a LACW at St Athan's in Wales before moving back to Yorkshire to Full Sutton until the end of the war. I met my husband whilst serving my country and we moved to Darlington, his home town, after our demob, where we married and raised a family.

I feel my brother-in-law's bravery should be recognised here in his own country and I would appreciate any help in achieving this. Although I agree our Allies helped us during the war, I think there should also be a statue in recognition of the acts of bravery of our own "unsung" heroes. - Hilda Gittins, Darlington.

LIFEGUARDS

I READ that the £150,000 annual cost of employing lifeguards at Seaton Carew and Hartlepool beaches might make them "unsustainable" (Echo, July 17).

I was at Seaton Carew to watch the Queen Mary 2 sail past and couldn't believe the number of dog owners who blatantly ignored the signs that their dogs were not allowed on the beach from May to September.

One person had three dogs.

I saw only one dog owner clean up after their pet. Had someone been there from the council to carry out the threat to fine them £500 for this offence, the entire costs for one year's lifeguards would have been recouped without any problem. And if someone was there regularly, who knows how much could be saved for the council tax payers? - E Burley, Newton Aycliffe.

DARLINGTON TOILETS

IS Darlington going to spend millions on pedestrianisation without building some nice new public toilets?

I was in Whitby recently and had to use one of the superloos at 20p, but it was well worth it. Every toilet was in working order, extremely tidy, no sign of vandalism and very clean.

The one public toilet Darlington has left is constantly vandalised, costing thousands of pounds every year in repairs. The sooner we get a superloo the better. - C Walker, Darlington.

PENSIONS

I HOPE pensioners have read the small print in the Pensions Bill of February 2004. That "workers robbed of their pensions when their company went bust were relieved to find that the Government unveiled a £400m fund" to help them (Echo, May 15).

However, it turns out that those who retired before April 6, 1997, will not receive any increase in their occupational pensions.

Is this fair? No, because the Chancellor has robbed pension funds of £5bn a year through the abolition of the dividend tax credit. This should be the money that goes to those who lost their occupational pensions.

If the present proposals are implemented, in the long run those who have lost out over occupational pensions will be increasingly dependent upon the state in old age.

All occupational pensioners should write to their MPs to try to head off this attack on the security of their pensions. - AL Carter, Marske.

HUNTING

YOUR readers will be aware of a promise made by the Labour Party in its manifesto, seven years ago, to debate hunting with dogs in Parliament.

Seven years later, after numerous debates, the vote for a complete ban on hunting with dogs passed by huge majorities numerous times, and we are still waiting!

Why? Excuse after excuse has been made and I, for one, am heartily sick of it, and I know many prominent backbenchers are.

The Prime Minister himself said in 1999: "It will be banned."

I think Tony Blair likes to be thought of as a man of his word, and up to now I have gone along with that, but my trust is wearing very thin. It is becoming difficult explaining and justifying this dilly-dallying to the public.

Time is quickly running out for a Bill to go through Parliament as a General Election is expected next year.

Does Mr Blair expect the public to be hoodwinked again? Does the Government think we will accept anything less than a complete ban? We are not going to and will continue campaigning for as long as it takes. - Name and address supplied.

MANNERS

ANOTHER cold day on any high street. No, I am not talking about the weather, just the abominable and unsocial behaviour of people who should be ashamed to call themselves human beings.

If someone collapsed, dying on the street, would anyone be a Good Samaritan nowadays? Only one or two at the most.

Even saying hello to your fellow humanoid is fraught with frustration now as most ignore the friendly salutation. They are too wrapped up in their little, pathetic and materialistic lives to consider the needs of anyone else.

I socialise very little because I find many people painful and arrogant. I usually go where I will find nice, giving people, often in the voluntary sector. - Ken Jackson, Romanby, Northallerton.

NORTHUMBRIA

INCLUDED with The Northern Echo yesterday was a copy of Great Summer Days Out, a lovely colour magazine headed "Northumbria: England's Greatest Region".

Have I missed something ? When did County Durham and the Tees Valley become part of Northumbria? When was "Northumbria divided into four parts", to quote the publication? Does the One NorthEast Tourism Team, which appears to have prepared the magazine, realise that there are still different counties in this area and many people are still proud of them? Or could it be that the regional assembly will be called "Northumbria"? - Ian Jamieson, Burnhope, County Durham.

METRIC MUDDLE

OUR "half metric half imperial muddle" as Lord Howe calls it (Echo, July 9) may be confusing to some, but to us Brits it is our muddle and we're perfectly happy with it, thank you.

Measurements are no good unless the person using them can understand their value and worth; visualise their length, depth or capacity. For example, the majority of drivers using our roads can gauge a mile, but not a kilometre.

The metric system was forced upon us because of metric Europe, not because it was what the people of Britain wanted.

Leave our measurements alone. As the article says, the huge cost of forcing everyone to conform to metric only would be a waste of money. Our present "muddle" is serving us well, allowing us freedom of choice. - EA Moralee, Billingham.