Garden Party at the Prebendal
September 12th. 2015
Once again the heritage foundation held a garden party in the stunning grounds of Dwina and the late Rob Gibb’s house to continue raising funds for the upkeep of the Bomber Command Memorial in attendance were some of the Bomber boys who survived as well as stars (celebrities) from the herritage foundation including Derek Martin (Charlie Slatte), John Altman (Nasty Nick Cotton) from Eastenders, Nicholas Parsons quiz show Sale of the Century Host, John D Collins who played Flt Lt Fairfax (the stranded British airman in occupied France during World War II in the series Allo Allo) along with Allo Allo waitress Vicki Michelle who took over as Herritage President after Robin’s death. The day started at 11.30am when guest and fans arrived. Dwina very kindly opened her garden up so the 300 guests could walk freely round the beautiful gardens of Robins home. Dwina also kindly opened the Refectory and the Chapel so once again fans could see in Robins favourite rooms, and get to see his private processions etc etc… Dwina , RJ and Megan came to meet and greet everyone, and was happy to have photos taken with fans etc… Megan also had Ella, Max and Theo with her and her parents. It was lovely to see the children. There were speeches and kind words of several people. (The speech of Jill Francis is posted in this report). At 1.00 pm. there was lunch in a marque in the garden with live music.
Jill Francis spoke beautifully to Dwina and the audience, this is her speech:
Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentleman and of course a special thanks to Dwina and your family.
As some of you are fully aware three years ago I started a petition to try and honour Robin a Posthumous Knighthood, Unfortunately during Robins lifetime this was never achieved, however I firmly believe with the information I have learned since his passing he would no doubt been honoured the Knighthood he so deserved but sadly time wasn’t on his side.
Over months and months of hard work, letter writing, emails, telephone calls, the British Parliament would not budge, and Gallantry awards both Military and Civilian are only awarded, and I was told that there are no plans in Government to change the rules anytime soon.
So in true Robin style I decided not to give up, and continue collecting signatures in hope that one day these will help support getting recognition in otherways, Maybe a Statue, a naming somewhere, just something….
The signature Petition is in place at the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park and will continue to be there for the distance future, The folder explain all things Robin achieved in life and not just music but have emphasis on the memorial..
It still amazes me how many people write in the folder, leave numerous letters thanking Robin from the bottom of their heart for making this wonderful memorial happen. For the determination and the hard for spearheading this project words of thanks are endless. Some veterans have even been left photos of them in action writing messages of thanks on the back of the photos. Leaving pictures asking these to be sent to Robins family. The signatures are collected every three to four weeks either by myself or Linda which are then sent to me where I copy them onto disc and saved. Hoping they will help in someway in the future. That will remain to be seen,
But I have come t the conclusion it is not just a petition to get more recognition it has become much much more, it has become a folder of thanks and appreciation for Robin which I think is a great honour in itself. I read somewhere that Robin said ” this is honestly the proudest thing I have ever done” and I am sure we are all proud of him.
One last thing to date we have now collected just short of 100,000 signatures in support and thanking Robin for all that he did and achieved especially for the Bomber Command Memorial
WE THANK YOU MR ROBIN GIBB…
After Lunch there were more tributes, an auction of wonderful pictures of Robin as well as Bomber Command Memorabilia and from other celebrities and there was a raffle etc. Throughout the day there were a harpist, guitarist and singers playing various bits and pieces in the background: Schrödinger’s Strings (https://www.facebook.com/SchrodingersStrings)
All in all it was an amazing day….
Guest could wander around the gardens at length, take photos and chat to the celebrities there making it a perfect wonderful afternoon in glorious sunshine.
More photos at: www.private-beegees-archives.de
Some items to watch:
Robin Gibb and Bomber Command. youtube.com youtube.com
Robin Gibb,Thame and The Prebendal. http://prebendal.4mg.com www.thamehistory.net/places/Prebendal youtube.com youtube.com