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Brockham Parish News
December 2009
BROCKHAM BONFIRE CELEBRATIONS 2009
Saturday 7th November proved to be a very busy night with a huge crowd gathered to enjoy the bonfire celebrations on the village green. Thanks to the tremendous effort from everyone involved in the planning and organisation, the 2009 Bonfire Night celebrations resulted in a fantastic amount being collected from voluntary donations and the street collection. Whilst a somewhat damp but beautifully built bonfire burned the fireworks team once again treated the village to a truly spectacular display. Over £22,000 was collected on the night for local societies, charities and worthy causes. Despite the wet weather the car park teams still managed to park over 1,000 cars in farmer’s fields and the catering stalls all sold a huge amount of much needed hot food. The traditional roast pig auction once again raised the over £1,000. These together with the bangle sellers, firework sponsors, donations and advertisers, brochure sales and raffle tickets resulted in over £60,000 being taken on the night.
Thanks to a huge team effort by the bonfire boys and girls the Village Green was rapidly returned to normality in time for the Remembrance Day Service with volunteers from Brockham Badgers assisting with the litter. The Bonfire Boys and Girls worked tirelessly in the rain to dismantle all the lights, signs and fencing by the time darkness fell on Bonfire Sunday.
As part of this year’s bonfire celebrations we were honored to give a special 21-gun salute in memory of 23-year-old Lance Corporal James Hill, from the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards who died in Afghanistan on October 8 2009. His parents Claire and Brian gave their blessing for the special salute in memory of their only son who had enjoyed the bonfire many times in the past.
The crowd on Bonfire night were both vocal and generous despite the weather with many people saying it was the best Procession, Guy and Firework display ever. Our sincere thanks to everyone involved in making the event so successful and we look forward to another great Brockham Bonfire night in 2010.
With warmest Christmas wishes to you all from the Brockham Bonfire Boys and Girls.
Written By Brockham Bonfire for the December Parish News
Soldier remembered in poignant bonfire night tribute
By Guy Martin
November 10, 2009
CROWDS at Brockham Bonfire, near Dorking, paused in reflection on Saturday night to remember the sacrifice of a soldier who used to stand among them to watch the fireworks. Lance Corporal James Hill, from the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, died in Afghanistan on October 8, and a funeral service with full military honours was held for the 23-year-old in Redhill a fortnight ago. His parents Claire and Brian gave their blessing to a 21-gun salute in memory of their only son as part of the Brockham display. Some 20,000 people flocked to the village to enjoy spectacular fireworks, a bonfire that had taken weeks to build, a famous guy and a procession.
Brockham Bonfire lays claim to being the largest bonfire and fireworks display in the UK staged to mark the Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot. This year’s event was particularly poignant, beacuse of the tribute paid to the soldier. It was followed by a silence and then rapturous applause. Tony Hines, who is on the bonfire’s organising committee, said: “He [L/Cpl Hill] used to come to the bonfire, and everyone paused and reflected on the sacrifice he has made.
“The crowd were very appreciative for a local soldier who has given his life.”
The display took place the night before Remembrance Sunday, and the re-dedication of Brockham’s war memorial, which was renovated in the summer, was an additional way of remembering L/Cpl Hill and other servicemen and women. As ever it took an enormous community effort to make the bonfire a success, with hundreds of volunteers giving up their weekends and, in many cases, work days during the previous and following weeks.
More than 2,000 parking spaces were needed for the capacity crowd, and some 7,000 hotdogs, burgers and rolls were sold on a night expected to raise £22,000 for good causes. Voluntary donations taken in collection buckets were also a major part of the fundraising total, Mr Hines said.
“It broke just about all financial records,” he said. “The crowd support all of our charities, local societies and worthy causes.”
Building the bonfire took place over the six previous weekends, while young people sold tickets for a raffle which raised £1,000.
Auctioneer Ron Harman, who lives on Brockham Green, made a further £1,400 from a hog roast. There was a Guy Fawkes procession with 500 torches carried through the village, one by parish councillor Ken Luff. He has played a key part in organising the bonfire for more than half a century, and his efforts ensured the then Dorking Urban District Council did not withdraw consent for the event. His torch was the first to light the fire, followed by the 499 others and then the release of four tonnes of fireworks in a 13-minute display.
Taken From
http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2060535_soldier_remembered_in_poignant_bonfire_night_tribute