Memorial Bench for Jim Heald in Memorial Park

Update 9 April 2006

Jim's family have said they are happy with the way things are and that they don't want to hold a formal dedication ceremony, so we've now achieved the final big milestone. The bench has been paid for! The total cost of supply was £755 and it was installed by Playground Maintenance, who Jim worked for, free of charge. Payment was made by two cheques; one from the Marple Website's "Jim Heald Bench Fund" account for £630; the other from the Friends of Marple Memorial Park, who made up the balance of £125. Full details of the donations received to help purchase the bench are shown below. We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who contributed and helped to make this happen, not forgetting Dave Lowry at Capricorn Engraving, who supplied the plaques free of charge:

Friends of Marple Memorial Park £50.00
Marple Carnival Committee £50.00
The Marple Website £50.00
Marple Centre Regeneration Partnership £25.00
Jim Heald's family £215.00
Rotary Club of New Mills & Marple £25.00
Members of the community £26.00
Manchester Tree Surgeon Myers Treecare £100.00
Marple Fire Station £20.00
Collection at Marple Library £41.00
Donation from Dr. D. Law £25.00
Interest received £7.36

Total

£634.36

The residual sum of £4.36 in the Marple Website account will be left there as a nominal balance. This is the same account that was used for the Chris Finney Appeal and it will be kept open so that it can be reused for similar purposes if and when the opportunity arises. The account has annual reports covering activities since it was opened in December 2003 that have been scrutinised by a qualified accountant and a copies are available on request.

Update 19 March 2006

We are delighted to announce that Jim's memorial bench has now been installed in the park and the commemorative plaques supplied free of charge by Capricorn Engraving have been fitted.

It's taken some time since this all started but we hope you will agree that it really is a substantial bench and a fitting tribute to the exceptional service that Jim Heald provided for the park. We will discuss with Jim's family if they would like to have a formal dedication ceremony and, if they do, the details will be publicised here.

Update 29 December 2005

Unfortunately there has been considerable delay to the delivery of the bench - the excuse we were given is that the suppliers didn't have a large enough wagon coming in this direction! However, we understand it arrived a couple of days before Christmas and we look forward to being able to get it installed early in the New Year.

Update 27 August 2005

We were delighted to be contacted recently by Alasdair Kirk, a direct descendant of the Carver family who owned the Hollins Mill and donated the land for Memorial Park in 1922. Alasdair, the great great grandson of John Carver, was pleased to discover that the park is still highly valued by the people of Marple and has sent the Friends a cheque for £200 from The Kirk Trust.

This generous contribution will more than cover the shortfall against the cost of Jim's bench and, perhaps even more importantly, it establishes a fitting link back to the Carver family in commemorating Jim's 45 years of service in the park.

Update 20 August 2005

After a bit of a hiccup over the price - we were looking at an out of date catalogue from the supplier - we're pleased to announce that Jim's bench was ordered on Monday 15th August. The total cost will be approximately £760 and delivery is expected to take 6 weeks.

The delay has been due to us having to find an extra £130 and this has been done by reaching an agreement with the Parks and Recreation Team that they will pay for the new picnic tables that have recently been placed in the park, and which the Friends were going to pay for. The Friends will now use the money ear-marked for the picnic tables to make up the shortfall on Jim's bench. The bench will be installed by Jim's former colleagues at Playground Maintenance free of charge.

During the wait for delivery we hope to agree the location for the bench with members of Jim's family. So Stan - if you read this please get in touch with Peter using our contact us page.

Update 7 June 2005

At last night's Friends of Marple Memorial Park meeting it was unanimously agreed that we should purchase the grandest and most expensive of the four bench designs that made the final selection, which is this one:

We think this will be a superb tribute to Jim's memory. The final layout of the new play area scheme is still awaited so that the position of the bench can be confirmed, but watch this space for more news soon.

Update 28 May 2005

At the next meeting of Friends of Marple Memorial Park, on Monday 6th June, it is hoped to select the design for Jim's memorial bench. Some of the designs being considered are shown below. The final position that it will be placed in is still to be determined in conjunction with the new play area scheme.

The funding for the bench has been boosted by a second contribution from Jim's family and we now have over £600 towards its cost, which should easily be enough for one of the substantial designs above.

Update 22 February 2005

This month we've received a generous donation of £25 from Dr. David Law and another 75p from the collection at Marple library, taking the total now raised for the bench to well over £500.

Although our original target was £600, with discounts that we think can be arranged through the council and help we expect to receive from Jim's former colleagues, we now believe enough money has been raised for a good quality bench.

At the Friends of Marple Memorial Park meeting on 24th January we asked Stockport Council to obtain some brochures and prices of benches to enable us to see what designs and options we can afford. Unfortunately the person who took this action was unable to attend last night's meeting, so we have not yet received the brochures.

With regard to choosing the location of the bench, the Friends would like it to coordinate this with the layout of the new play area that is to be constructed in the park using the £50,000 of grant money awarded for this purpose by SMBC and "Living Spaces". This will mean some delay in deciding where the bench will be placed but will ensure that it features prominently in the new play area scheme.

Update 16 January 2005

Dave Lowery at Capricorn Engraving / 1-A-Sign? in the Goyt Mill has seen the appeal on-line and has offered to provide an engraved brass plate or to engrave the top rail of the bench, whichever we need, free of charge. This is a fantastic offer that we will be delighted to take up and our thanks go to Dave and his wife, Christine, who head up this local family run business.

Update 8 January 2005

Over the Christmas and New Year holidays we've received the cheques we were expecting from the Carnival Committee and from Dave Myers of Myers Treecare Ltd, so thanks once again to the the Committee and to Dave for their generosity.

We've also received a total of £40.25 cash that has been donated by the members of the public in a collecting box that has been at Marple Library. Thank you to all the people who donated using this.

We are starting to approach our target amount, although we are approximately £120 short at the moment. In the near future the Friends will be looking at the types of benches available and we should learn the exact amount of money needed to purchase one.

In the meantime if you haven't contributed yet but would like to, please see the update of 4 October below for details of how to do this. If you would like more information about making a contribution to this appeal please let us know by email or give Peter a call using our contact us page.

Update 13 December 2004

The cheque for £50 from Friends of Marple Memorial Park has now been received and banked and we've also had a donation of £20 from Marple Fire Station - thank you Firefighters! In addition, the latest bank statement shows that we've had two contributions, of £5 each, paid directly into the account by members of the public - so thank you for that too folks.

Update 17 November 2004

Cheque of £25 each from Marple Regeneration Partnership and The Rotary Club of New Mills, Marple & District have now been received. We've also had a fantastic pledge of £100 from Dave Myers, of Myers Treecare Ltd. Just as importantly, we've also received a steady trickle of donations from local folk who remember Jim and want to contribute to his memorial. So many thanks to Dave and everyone else who has either pledged or sent money. 

Update 31 October 2004

We've just received a pledge for £25 from the New Mills, Marple and District Rotary Club, who have their own web pages on our site - many thanks to them for supporting us once again. We've also received the £100 donation from Jim's family and the fund currently stands at £150 received plus a further £150 pledged, making £300 total.

Update 4 October 2004

We're please to advise that our fund-raising account with the Royal Bank of Scotland in Market Street, originally set up for the successful Chris Finney GC Watch Appeal, has now been amended for the purpose of collecting donations on behalf of Friends of Marple Memorial Park. The money raised will be used to purchase a bench in memory of Jim Heald, which will be dedicated from the local community and placed in Memorial Park. Those of you who would like to contribute toward the this can make your donations in the following ways:

By post

Cheques made payable to "J. Heald Bench Fund" can be sent to:

The Marple Website

72 Woodville Drive

Marple

SK6 7QX

We've been pleased to learn that Jim's family wanted to contribute to the appeal, and we understand from Jim's Step-brother, Stan, that a cheque for £100 is on its way from them. With this superb contribution the money pledged so far is almost halfway to our target!

Appeal details - a bench in memory of Jim Heald

Most people in Marple will recognise Jim Heald from this photograph and, although they may not have known his name, it's quite likely that they will have seen him many times. This is because Jim gave over 45 years of service to Marple's Memorial Park, through various jobs, spending almost half a century tending the park he loved.

Following his sudden death earlier this year many members of the public suggested that a bench be installed, as a permanent memorial, in recognition of his dedication and commitment to the park. This suggestion has been seized upon by the Friends of Marple Memorial Park and they have swung into action to set up a fund where donations can be received towards the cost of the bench.

Peter Clarke, chairman of the friends group, said: “The bench appeal is in response to requests from members of the public who wanted to do something to remember Jim by. I raised the suggestion at a recent friends' meeting and it was supported unanimously for us to set up a collection to buy a bench that can be dedicated to him. As Jim worked for a number of years in the playground maintenance department, we thought that it would be quite fitting to tie it in with proposed improvements to the play area and have the bench sited there.”

Jim’s stepbrother, Stan, said: “Even after his retirement ten years ago he would still go and help in the park off his own back, cleaning up litter and keeping it tidy. He loved the park and had a lot of friends there. He was always out and about, having a wander, and everyone in the village knew him. “He was a very pleasant and happy-go-lucky guy, he’d never got any bother.”

“He would be very pleased about the bench, very proud,” added Stan. “We’re all very pleased because that was what we had wanted as some kind of recognition for his work in the park.”

The appeal has been kicked off by the Friends of Marple Memorial Park themselves, who have voted to contribute £50 towards the cost. This has already been matched by Marple Carnival Committee and The Marple Website, whilst the Marple Centre Regeneration Partnership has also pledged £25.

If more local organisations and members of the public (not to mention Jim's former colleagues at Stockport Council) are prepared to contribute to the appeal, it's likely that enough money can be raised to purchase a good quality bench that can be dedicated in Jim's memory. It's anticipated that around £600 will be needed to do this.

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