Simon Ball
Simon enriches the life of Meltham.
There will have been few people of his age who committed themselves to playing the organ, and then playing it so regularly. He remains a fixture at St Bartholomew’s as the main organist and Choir Master.
He gets events right with his music, whether its important Civic events or simply, but equally important for the individuals when there are personal milestones in church.
Over the years, until Covid and then age wrought havoc in the choir, he made sure that there have been Easter performances of Oratorios as well as getting the Choir to sing Carols round the houses.
He is the maestro of Carols in the Pub each December, where he shows what a true virtuoso he is – how many versions of While Shepherds Watched are there? In 2023 people reserved their seats in the Waggon and Horses to be there.
He helps to make Carols in the Park the great event it has become in the life of the village.
Add to this his contributions historically of the Real Ale Bar at Meltham Memories and he really has helped make Meltham a special place to be.
I have never come across an organist and musician who gets both the spiritual and the fun right in equal measure.
David Brown Tractor Club
The David Brown Tractor Club is a not for profit organisation which preserves the history of David Brown Tractors, a significant part of the towns history. With around 2000 members worldwide, not only does it keep our local history alive, it reaches out to every continent to people who are real enthusiasts about the machines that were made in Meltham from just after World War II to 1987.
The club publishes a magazine, maintains a museum and holds events attended by local people and those from further a field. The museum opens monthly. The club preserves many significant items including the last tractor ever made in Meltham, the engineers drawings archive and the records archive.
Having been a committee member a decade ago, I understand the time and effort required to keep the club and museum in existence, raising funds and managing the club shop to generate money for rent and rates. The enthusiasm of committee members and enthusiasts to keep this valuable piece of Meltham’s history preserved and celebrated, is huge.
I have been to many events in Meltham over the last two decades, and they would not be complete without an appearance by an odd David Brown tractor or two.
I have travelled a lot with my work, and it never ceases to amaze me how many people are familiar with David Brown tractors, and the link with Aston Martin, and preserving this is important and valuable.
The club does a sterling job preserving such a significant part of Meltham’s history alive for current and future generations. David Brown echoes around the village, and with fewer and fewer employees of the company remaining, the clubs work seems hugely valuable to me, and I hope all local people. Having seen old and young alike have their eyes light up when they visit the museum, I would like to nominate the club for recognition by the Council.
Meltham Fire Service
For decades, Meltham Fire Service have served our community. As an on-call, retained service, the firefighters come from all walk of life, offering daytime, evening and weekend cover on top of their normal, day-to-day commitments.
Meltham Fire Service are called out regularly, they’ve attended shouts at Marsden Moor, Wessenden Moor moorland fires, spending days putting out wildfires. They race to the pump, not knowing what situation awaits them.
One major incident in Meltham 2021 was responded to in minutes at The Pink Elephant restaurant, the crew was on-site quickly, having to break in to get to the source of the fire, which turned out to be a faulty fridge. Their prompt response enabled an already struggling business to get back on it’s feet, whilst the business was still reeling from Covid restrictions. This fire could have been so much worse, had the quick actions of local residents and the retained fire service not have happened.
Over and above this though, the brigade regularly takes parts in community events such as the Scarecrow Festival, Meltham Memories, as well as various parades in the village. These are often used as opportunities to promote safety awareness for various national campaigns. Finally, the fire service also help out, in exchange for a sandwich or two…with putting up the Meltham Christmas Lights. This year, 2023, they were called out twice whilst doing so, but they still came back to finish off the job!
Thank you Meltham Fire Service for your commitment and service to your community.
