What's all this about lost trees in Westbury, and
what has the Queen Mother got to do with it, I hear you ask.
Well, it is a bit of a mystery, and
I need your help to solve it.
The story goes like this.
Back in 1980 we, the townspeople of Westbury, were asked via the Wiltshire Times I think it was, for suggestions as to where 80 trees to
commemorate the Queen Mother's eightieth birthday, should be planted in or around Westbury.
In 1998 I was thinking where these trees might be, and with so much building work going on in the town I thought I would get it checked out, so I started by writing to the Town Council, and a copy of that text follows:- Letter to Town Council Nov. 1998
"You may recall that in 1980 to commemorate the Queen Mother's
eightieth birthday, 80 trees were planted in and around Westbury,
and I myself contributed by suggesting that some be planted along
the Trowbridge Road, and it is these, and the rest of the 80 trees
that I would like to be able to appreciate, but to be able to do this
I would need to know where they were all planted, and this is where
you can help me; what I would need is a copy of a plan or map so that
I can view them all, and then in the future I can pass this
information on to my children, so that they too will know what we, as
citizens of Westbury, did to commemorate the Queen Mother's birthday."
Town Council's reply said roughly:-
They do not have any records that go back as far as 1980.
The Mayor at the time recalls that some were planted along the
Trowbridge Road, and that it may have been the District Council that
was responsible.
The records prior to 1983, of the West Wilts District Council,
Parks and Amenities Department, have been destroyed.
The Wiltshire County Council Land Agent does not know anything
about it.
Next stop was to write to Clarence House
Here, I explained what I was enquiring about and what I had found out so far, and finished off, "Therefore, I wonder if your Office has any record of such a tree planting scheme, in Westbury, in connection with the Queen Mother's eightieth birthday?"
The Queen Mother's Office replied that they "have no record in our files".
So where do I go from here? Well I've put this up for you to read,
in the hope that perhaps you, or someone you know, can shed some light on this sorry state of affairs.
So now you have all I know about Westbury's efforts to mark an
auspicious occasion, and all we have got to show for it is some
poor specimens along the Trowbridge Road.
I just need to find someone who drew up the planting plan (if there
was one), or someone who ordered the trees, someone who supplied them,
or someone who planted them.
If you come up with anything please contact:
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Produced for
Westbury, Wilts
by Michael Badger
© 2000 Michael Badger
Updated: Nov.2003 | |
