In my second column I’m focusing on the heroes of West Ham and Beckton past, present, and future.
This month marked Remembrance Day with services and memorials across the country, in our local area, and Parliament. It was an honour to attend a service on Remembrance Sunday at Brick Lane Music Hall and lay a wreath at St Mark’s Memorial, Silvertown. Thank you again to councillors Rohit Dasgupta and John Gray who represented me and laid parliamentary wreaths at St. Luke’s Church in Canning Town and West Ham Church.
I learnt of local men who served in the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit of the RAF during the Second World War: George Borrett, Ronald Kemp-Lewis, Alan McLaren, John Phypers, Arnold Rumsey, and Anthony Sams. These men bravely served in exceptional circumstances flying spitfires and mosquitos with limited protection. There is an ongoing campaign for a national memorial of their unit, and we would like to remember them locally. There is also a search for more information and possible descendants of these men.
Since my last column I’ve joined Olympic champion Christine Ohoruogu in opening London’s first residential rooftop running track. The running track can be found on the rooftop of a new development in the Royal Docks, and further cements our legacy as an Olympic borough that Christine and others helped secure.
West Ham and Beckton has been a training site for other Olympic heroes and even one superhero! The East London Gymnastics Centre is a grassroots facility that has hosted elite gymnasts and Olympians like Nile Wilson and Max Whitlock and even Spider-Man Actor Tom Holland. However, the next generation of Olympians may not have the same opportunities, as the East London Gymnastics Centre is under threat of closure by the end of the year. The Gymnastics Centre is the only place in the borough of Newham that can provide the facilities for those training at an elite level.
I have been overwhelmed with the level of support from the community to save the Gymnastics Centre and I’m determined to work with all those involved including local councillors and the Mayor of London. I have raised this issue in parliament and will continue to lobby ministers to support the campaign to #SaveTheELGC.
I could not be prouder of the strength and resilience of our community here in West Ham & Beckton, and it is an honour, in my role as the local MP, to constantly see that community spirit in action, whether throughout our history, in the here and now, or looking to the years ahead.
