Teesside stories you may have missed this week
Here are some stories you may have missed on Teesside this week.
"It was like nothing I'd ever seen," 102-year-old RAF veteran Kenneth Johnson said of the VE Day celebrations in 1945.
He is one of thousands across the north-east of England and Cumbria who commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe.
Services and parties took place, including parades in Redcar, ahead of the lighting of beacons as part of a national hilltop ceremony.
"Everyone was waltzing and snake dancing [conga lines] - it seems quite silly now," Mr Johnson, from Darlington recalled.
Read about Mr Johnson's memories here
llegal vapes and tobacco worth more than £12,000 were stored under "rotting waste" in wheelie bins, Trading Standards officers found.
The officials seized 685 packs of cigarettes, 24 packs of hand-rolling tobacco and 83 illegal vapes from bins outside a shop in Darlington.
Cleveland Police informed Darlington Borough Council after spotting a shop worker removing tobacco from the bins where it was being used as off-site storage.
Read the full story here
Little jumpers knitted by grandmothers are being used to prevent penguins caught in oil spills from getting ill while trying to clean their feathers.
Dubbing themselves the Knitting Nannas, the group based at Hazelgrove Court Care Home in Saltburn, Teesside, have been sending their mini creations to a charity in Australia.
The woolly tops are used as a barrier to stop the birds ingesting toxic chemicals when they try to preen themselves after swimming through oil.
Read all about the Knitting Nannas story here
A football fan paid £1,000 to help others travel to Wembley for an FA Trophy final.
Lifelong Spennymoor Town FC fan Gary Finley said he had to "follow his heart" and pay transport costs for more than 65 fans going to watch their team play Aldershot Town on Sunday.
It comes after Spennymoor Town Council refused to help the club pay for fans to travel to the final as part of their Back the Fans and Pack the Stands campaign.
Read all about this act of generosity here
Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Last surviving Second World War Victoria Cross recipient dies aged 105
Britain's last surviving Second World War Victoria Cross recipient has died aged 105. Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank, from Aberdeen, received the VC for bravery during an attack on an enemy submarine that left him seriously injured. A total of 181 people received Britain's highest military decoration for their actions during the war. The RAF captain's family told the BBC he died last week and that a funeral would be held in private, the news outlet reported on Saturday. Flt Lt Cruickshank was the captain of a Catalina flying boat with 210 Squadron, flying submarine-hunting missions from RAF Sullom Voe, in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. On July 17 1944, aged 24, he was sent on a patrol to protect the British Home Fleet as it returned from an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz. A U-boat was spotted on the surface near Norway and the aircraft he was captaining and piloting launched an offensive. The first bombs failed to release but Flt Lt Cruickshank turned the plane to face enemy fire and attack again. He dropped depth charges during the second attempt, sinking the U-boat. Flt Lt Cruickshank sustained 72 injuries including two to his lungs and 10 to his lower limbs during the assault. The navigator was killed, three other crew members were severely injured, and the badly damaged aircraft was filled with fumes from exploding shells. After the victory, Flt Lt Cruickshank left the cockpit but refused painkillers and continued to advise his second pilot who had taken control. The surviving crew members spent five and a half hours flying back to Sullom Voe. Despite losing consciousness multiple times during their return, he assisted the second pilot with the landing which took an hour. In 2013, Flt Lt Cruickshank said: 'It was just normal, we were trained to do the job and that was it. 'I wouldn't like to say I'm the only one that has an amazing story, there are plenty of other stories coming from that time. 'It wasn't that wonderful in those days, I can tell you that. We could only think in those days there were better days to come.' After the war ended Flt Lt Cruickshank returned to his career in banking.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
How a 'moth-eaten rag' became a war memorial
A small coastal town is home to an unusual World War Two war memorial created by soldiers in memory of comrades who died while prisoners of war (POW). It was made by men from the 4th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment, who were captured at the fall of Singapore in 1942. They spent more than three years as slave labourers for the Japanese army, much of it at Chungkai camp in Thailand. The centrepiece of the memorial in Leiston, Suffolk, is a union jack, used in the camp during funeral services and brought home by Corp Herbie Bailey after he and the other survivors were finally liberated. In 1952, the veterans transformed the "moth-eaten rag" into a tribute to the POWs of the 4th Battalion who died and to mark the 10th anniversary of their capture. "Sometimes people just refer to it as a flag, but it's not just a flag - the flag is just the centrepiece of a very, very interesting and unusual war memorial," said Taff Gillingham, chairman of the Friends of the Suffolk Regiment. In 1942, the 4th Battalion was among many Allied divisions rushed to defend Singapore, in the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour. After fierce fighting but against impossible odds, the British, Australian and Indian forces were ordered to surrender. Somehow the 11ft by 6ft (3.3m by 1.8m) flag went with the men of the 4th Battalion when they were transferred to Chungkai camp, said Mr Gillingham. This was a POW camp used during the construction of the infamous Burma-Thailand Railway, and today it is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery. About 13,000 Allied prisoners of war died during the railway project, plus an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians, according to the commission. Mr Gillingham said the 4th and 5th battalions of the Suffolk Regiment were about 2,000 strong when they disembarked at Singapore in 1942, but more than a third of them had died by the end of the war. The POWs were allowed to build a little wooden chapel at Chungkai for church services, where the flag rested on its altar. "And every time one of the soldiers died, it was used for the funeral service," Mr Gillingham said. "Starved, beaten and executed for the slightest misdemeanours - the thing that inspires me is their resilience and their ingenuity, making medicines from plants that they'd find in the jungle, for example." Every aspect of the memorial has a specific link to the 4th Battalion, a territorial unit which recruited from the Leiston area. Mr Gillingham said: "The frame is just as interesting [as the flag], in that it's made from wood salvaged from Southwold Pier and the metal frame it sits on was made by the engineering works of Garretts, the engineering works in Leiston, so it was a proper local project. "And the colours behind the flag mean something too - they are the colours of the Pacific Star, the medal that all the Far East prisoners of war were given." Today, it is owned by the Friends of the Suffolk Regiment and is on long-term loan to the town's Long Shop Museum. When the men of the 4th Battalion were liberated at the end of the war, many, including Corp Bailey, continued to serve in the territorials for years, with weekly training and annual camps. Underneath the memorial is a plaque which describes it as "a moth-eaten rag on a worm-eaten pole". It also records how the union jack was "hoisted to the top of the pole in the camp by the men of the battalion who survived three years of living hell". Mr Gillingham said: "It's often said to be the only war memorial based on an artefact brought back from the field, and it's certainly the only one I can think of, but it's a lovely thing because it has a direct connection with the place, and the people, with those who died." A service to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day and the end of World War Two will be held at the memorial at 10:30 BST. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story 'Death railway' soldiers honoured with exhibition Film to tell regiment's 'poignant' war battles 'VE celebrations muted due to Far East prisoners' Related internet links The Long Shop Museum, Leiston Friends of the Suffolk Regiment
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pembrokeshire town's special services to mark VJ Day anniversary
Tenby joined the nation in marking Victory over Japan (VJ) Day yesterday (Friday August 15) to honour the end of World War Two and remember those who served in the Far East campaign. Commemorative events in the town began at 11am with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tenby war memorial, with town mayor Cllr Dai Morgan amongst the many representative of local groups and organisations paying tribute. VJ Day marks 15 August 1945, the day Japan surrendered and brought World War Two to a close. Tenby Royal British Legionchairman Shane Roberts lays a wreath, watched by the mayor of Tenby. Cllr Dai Morgan. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) Piper Graham Phillips played during the service. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) A large and respectful gathering stood in Tenby's South Parade for the wreath-laying, remembering the sacrifices of thousands of servicemen and women, including those who faced extreme conditions as prisoners of war or served in some of the most challenging theatres of war. Town Crier Erin Morgan proclaimed the start of the war memorial service. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) One local resident who served in the Far East is 99-year-old Duncan Hilling of Saundersfoot, who has just been honoured by Wales First Minister, Eluned Morgan. Read more Pembrokeshire war veteran, 99, personally thanked by First Minister Mr Hilling is the senior member of Tenby Male Choir, whose proud fellow choristers said they saluted his service. Dyfed-Powys Police was amongst the organisations represented at the service. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) The ceremony at the war memorial was followed at midday by a special service of commemoration in St Mary's Church, Tenby conducted by the Rev Steven Brett. Youth organisations joined in the Tenby tribute. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) The chairman of the Tenby branch of the Royal British Legion, Shane Roberts, then led a presentation celebrating the lives of veterans and loved ones connected to the conflict, as well as local organisations affiliated to the Royal British Legion. The mayor of Tenby, Cllr Dai Morgan, lays a wreath on behalf of the town. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) The beautiful floral cross in the Tenby war memorial grounds. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) Members of Tenby Town Council joined in the service. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) VJ Day 80 marks the end of World War Two in 1945. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) The mayor of Tenby, Cllr Dai Morgan said: "VJ Day allows us to pay tribute to those whose service and sacrifice in the Far East are too often overlooked. "These commemorations are a chance for our community to come together, to remember, and to ensure that their legacy lives on." Tenby Town Council also acknowledged the ongoing efforts of the Tenby Branch of the Royal British Legion, who continue to ensure the stories of these veterans are remembered and respected.
