Latest news with #Whittlesey
Epoch Times
18 hours ago
- General
- Epoch Times
The Courageous Rescue of the ‘Lost Battalion' in World War I
During one of the final battles of World War I, a group of over 500 American soldiers found themselves surrounded on all sides by the enemy. For several days, the group held their position without surrendering. A media frenzy labeled the men the 'lost battalion,' even though they were never 'lost' and the men actually came from various battalions. Following Orders On Sept. 26, 1918, Maj. Charles Whittlesey and his 77th Division were ordered to launch an offensive attack against German forces. German soldiers had occupied the Argonne Forest in northeastern France, and had held it for four years. Whittlesey and his troops made good progress pushing through enemy forces, but they were unaware what was happening around them. The 77th Division pushed through the forest quickly. But what they didn't know was that they had covered more ground than reinforcements on their right and left flanks. By Oct. 1, Whittlesey's troops had started to tire, and they were running low on supplies. He hadn't seen his reinforcements yet, so Whittlesey wanted to slow the progress into enemy territory. His commander refused.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Serious injury as car and paramedic vehicle crash in Whittlesey
A driver has been seriously hurt in a crash involving a car and an ambulance rapid response vehicle on a 999 happened in Whittlesey, near Peterborough, at 11:10 BST on driver of a black Peugeot suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. Two Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service crews attended to help free paramedic driving the other vehicle sustained minor injuries, said Cambridgeshire Police. The crash happened in Eastrea Road, near the junction with Victory Avenue. Both cars were heading towards Peterborough at the time."We are keen to hear from anyone who was in the area around the time of the collision," said Sgt Claire Marland."If you believe you may have dashcam footage of either vehicle in the lead-up to the collision, please do get in touch with us as this may help us paint a better picture of what happened." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
22-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Peterborough Paralympic medallist recognised with blue plaque
A blue plaque is being unveiled for the Paralympic shooting gold medallist Matt will be on display at Whittlesey Rifle Club in the Cambridgeshire town, where Skelhon who is from Peterborough, won the gold medal in the SH1 10m prone air rifle event at the Beijing Olympics in plaque will be unveiled at 12:30 BST on Sunday, during the Whittlesey Big Bash annual summer event, where he is a guest of honour. A spokesperson for the club said: "Matt Skelhon is taking a break from training to be there and meet the public."The Whittlesey Big Bash 2025 is well worth visiting with 300 classic vehicles, a family disco and the chance to try other sports like archery, tennis and fishing, all for free."The rifle club is based at Manor Leisure Centre, which is due to be redeveloped with a new facility for the Whittlesey Big Bash begins on Sunday at 11:00 at the leisure centre. Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk.
BBC News
08-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Fenland Bus Show will see 30 buses in Whittlesey
A coach driver said she was "very proud" to showcase her late father's vehicle at an inaugural bus first ever Fenland Bus Show will take place in the centre of Whittlesey, near Peterborough, on part of the celebrations, people were being offered free rides to the Fenland countryside, and storytime sessions were being put on for children. Alison Gretton, 39, whose father Roger ran Gretton's Coaches of Peterborough, will be driving his single-decker, 53-seat Scania Van Hool coach to the event. The coach she will drive at the event was first registered in 1999, and was affectionately known as "Prince Roger G" after Mr Gretton, who ran the Fengate company from the seventies until his death in even carried Mr Gretton to his funeral after being specially adapted by the Gretton said it was "very recognisable", and added: "I think any bus spotters would know that bus and say, 'that used to be Roger Gretton's'."The company wound up in 2020, after which Ms Gretton began driving coaches for another local the Fenland Bus Show, she will be offering "forget me not" trips on Prince Roger G to the Fenland countryside, aimed at people living with dementia and Alzheimer's."Everyone wants a brand spanking new bus, don't they, but I'm very proud to be driving in Dad's old bus," said Ms Gretton. The Fenland Bus Show will have about 30 coaches on display in the town centre, and it comes two years after the town's annual Busfest was Page, one of the organisers, said Busfest was so popular in Whittlesey that they decided to put on a similar event."We had to change the name, obviously," he said."It's hopefully something we can build on this year and take even further next year."He said Ms Gretton "jumped straight away" to support the event. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Environment Agency criticised over Whittlesey pollution incidents
The Environment Agency (EA) "needs fundamental reform," according to an MP who expressed concern about a "lack of transparency and action" over pollution incidents. Sir Stephen Barclay, the Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire and former environment secretary, said it was unacceptable outcomes and prosecutions had not yet been brought over pollution incidents in Cambridgeshire. He urged the government to examine the body's "lack of transparency and accountability on its operational performance".The Environment Agency has been asked to respond to the MP's criticism. The incidents included two in Whittlesey, near Peterborough, one at Saxon Pit, seven years ago and another at King's Dyke in September. In a parliamentary debate on Wednesday, Sir Stephen claimed the EA's lack of action could not be put down to resources, since its accounts showed an increase in staffing in the last Parliament by 21%, with expenditure increasing from £1.4bn to £2.2bn over the same period. An incident at the King's Dyke watercourse in September, which the EA declared as a category one, led to the death of about 900 Water said its storm overflow had operated as permitted during heavy rainfall, but that it found evidence of an oil slick close to one outfall, and high levels of ammonia at a in the debate, the MP said: "We have the most serious level of pollution incident, a category one, which happened in September, yet the Environment Agency says it will not tell the public of Whittlesey the cause of it for at least a year."I do not believe that is a sufficient level of transparency or accountability."The EA has not revealed the outcome of its findings or whether any prosecutions were likely, but has said they will publish findings in Water said it had no further comment to make since its response in October. The Saxon Pit incident saw 122,000 tonnes of waste dumped between October 2017 and February 2018."The EA's initial response was to say that it was totally unaware of 122,000 tonnes of waste being dumped - but, regardless of whether the EA had been asleep at the wheel, we would expect it to then act," said Sir Stephen."Seven years on the waste remains in situ."He added the EA said the dumping was a "priority" issue and promised prosecutions, neither of which have to Sir Stephen's concerns, Emma Hardy, Labour's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, agreed constituents wanted action to pollution incidents. "I have been told that the situation at King's Dyke is progressing well, but we can have a more detailed conversation about both incidents with the [EA] area director, given that they involve criminal investigations," she EA has been contacted for comment. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
