Honorary Titles

Date made Honorary Freeman: 15 May 2007

Biography (from 15 May 2007)

ERNEST (Ernie) BROOK was born in Plumstead on 16 January 1935. He moved to Gravesend with Maureen his wife in 1960. They have four daughters all who were educated in the borough.

Ernie was educated at Woolwich Central School for boys, left there in 1950 and immediately started working for the civil service (Post Office). In 1952 Ernie volunteered for the Royal Air Force. He trained as a nurse and after completing his training worked in operating theatres with some of the most famous surgeons including the eminent Sir Archibald MacIndoe. Ernie met Maureen during the time they both served in the RAF. They married in 1955 and have since celebrated their golden wedding.

After Ernie and Maureen arrived in Gravesham he continued to work in the post office in London until he took up a position in the Kent County Ambulance Service stationed at Coldharbour Road Northfleet. Ernie was also a voluntary instructor in the British Red Cross society serving them for more than 20 years.

Ernie has been a member of the trade union and labour movement since 1950. He was active in the UPW now known as the Communication Workers Union and the Health Service. He was the General Secretary of the Ambulance Federation and in that capacity gave evidence to the Accident & Emergency Services Select Committee in the House of Commons – in an effort to secure advanced training and paramedical status for ambulance crews. He was also the regional secretary of the Health Union COHSE/UNISON.

Ernie became a member of the Gravesend Corporation in 1966 which subsequently merged in 1974 with Northfleet and Strood Urban District Council to form Gravesham Borough Council. Ernie has served on many council committees and has been actively involved with many outside bodies on behalf of the council. These bodies included the Citizens Advice Bureau Management Committee; the Community Health Council, of which he became its chair; various school governing bodies, including Singlewell, Cecil Road, Riverview, Thamesview and of course at Raynehurst where in 1970 he became the Chair of the Governors.

During his time on the Council Ernie has represented the constituents of the Chalk and Westcourt, Singlewell and Coldharbour wards. He became Mayor of the Borough in 1998 and during his mayoralty met many people in schools, churches and voluntary organisations. Whilst in office Ernie supported various charities including the National Lifeboat Institute, Crossroads (carers) and the Elleanor Hospice. He also made an appeal for the families of the ambulance crew who lost their lives in the air ambulance crash.

In his last role as Cabinet member for Housing, Ernie has instigated a number of projects within the borough including those at Eleanor, Lawrence Square and the schemes to provide temporary accommodation for use by homeless families at Holly and Wardona Court and many others. Ernie is also proud of how, in conjunction with partners and colleagues, he helped to establish a hostel for young expectant mums at North Court and the Community Bank in the Borough.

Ernie’s hobbies are reading, history, photography, the environment, choral music and drama.

Date made Honorary Freewoman: 14 May 2013

Biography (from 14 May 2013)

Jean was born on 24 January 1939 in Glasgow, Scotland and was educated there in local schools. She has been a Trade Union and Labour Party member ever since her first day at work in 1956.

For work reasons, she moved to Northfleet in 1973 with her husband Leslie and their two small children, Lorna and Graham and has lived at Pepper Hill ever since.

Jean was a Governor of Painters Ash Primary School for 25 years and after 15 years’ service is still one at Northfleet School for Girls, where during her time as Chair of Governors the school became a Co‐operative Trust School. She is also Secretary of Northfleet Veterans Club and was delighted to have the task of overseeing the refurbishment of the Club premises when it received a grant of almost £250,000 from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott.

In addition for more years than she cares to remember, Jean has been a Borough Council Representative on the Management Committee/Trustee Board of Gravesham Citizens Advice Bureau. She is currently Chair and was very pleased when they won a Pride in Gravesham Award for Services to the Community in 2009.

For 24 years from 1983 Jean represented Painters Ash Ward on the Borough Council. She was Chair of different Committees at various times, but her favourites were Community Safety, Standards and Licensing where she was the first ever Chair when the Council took over this responsibility from the Magistrates Court. She remembers some small achievements like the improvement to the landscaping and introduction of a one way only traffic flow to the shops in Deneholm Road. Much of the satisfaction came from dealing with many personal cases, especially housing problems.

Some of the highlights of a busy life include helping Adults with Literacy problems, visiting Greenham Common, campaigning against the Poll Tax and supporting Mining Communities during their strike in 1984/85. She also enjoyed walking all 28 miles of the Borough Bounds with the Mayor on a couple of occasions. Something she might find a bit more difficult to repeat today. One of the many things which make Jean proud to be honoured today was being a member of a Council which was recognised nationally for its commitment to equality and diversity.

When she ever gets round to finally retiring she looks forward to spending more time with her four grandchildren, Lewis 6, Niamh 4, Deven 3 and one year old Isla.

Date made Honorary Freeman: 10 May 2016

Biography (from 10 May 2016)

John was born in 1939 in the tiny Irish village of Stratford on Slaney, Co Wicklow, the eldest of five children.  After attending local schools he moved to London in 1956, aged 17.  His first job was a stock controller with Woolworth’s until he joined London Transport in 1961 to train as a bus driver (including the famous skid pan at Chiswick).

In 1966 he married Bridie and a year later they moved to Gravesend when John transferred to Northfleet bus garage. He was promoted to various positions, including Depot Inspector and Garage Manager. When Arriva bought the company, following privatisation, John was appointed Commercial Administration Manager at their head office in Maidstone. He retired in 2004 after 43 years continuous service in public transport.

John and Bridie have lived in Old Road West since 1967, where they brought up their three children, Anne, Graham and Alan.  They are also the proud grandparents of Jenna, Ellie, Amy, Saira and Arjun.

During the 70s John served as Branch Secretary of the T&GWU and also joined the Labour Party.  In 1979 he was elected as a councillor for Northfleet East ward (later to become Northfleet South), which he has represented continuously ever since.

John was invited to become a Magistrate on the Gravesham bench in 1981, and subsequently became one of its youngest Court Chairmen. Following the closure of Gravesend court he transferred to Dartford.  One of the memorable cases he dealt with was connected with the notorious Claire Tiltman murder.  He served as a Justice for 28 years until he retired in 2009.

During his time on the council John served as Chairman of the Planning, Standards and Licensing Committees.  He also chaired the Staff Appeals Panel, Licensing Panel, the High Speed Rail Link Panel and the Transport Advisory Panel.  When the cabinet system was introduced he was one of the original cabinet members, responsible for the Planning portfolio.  John considers that the highlight of his service on the council was when he was Mayor in 2004, so to be made a Freeman is the icing on the cake.

Outside the council John was a school governor of St John’s RC Junior and Senior schools and Cecil Road Primary school.  He has also served as a Trustee of Knights Almshouses, Gravesend Mencap and as a member of the Independent Broadcasting Authority for local radio.

John has always taken a keen interest in the welfare of the homeless.  When the House of Mercy hostel for the single homeless was opened by the Sisters of Mercy in Gravesend  24 years ago, he became involved helping with fund raising and then became a trustee.  The House of Mercy charity now has three hostels in Gravesend and Northfleet and John is currently Chairman of Trustees.

John and Bridie celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary in July this year. He said that being awarded the Freedom of the Borough will make 2016 an extra memorable year.

Date made Honorary Freeman: 9 May 2017

Biography (from 9 May 2017)

David Harold Winston Turner was born in Sidcup in 1942 (hence the name!) and was soon watching V1s passing overhead while his four older siblings were out collecting shrapnel.

From an early age he drifted into activities helping others; coaching cricket, rugby and gymnastics to younger boys while at school, at the same time helping at a youth club. Without any conscious intent he gradually became absorbed in voluntary work: It can be fairly said that the vast majority of that work has provided opportunities for youngsters to develop as people, to achieve their potential sporting talent and to be involved in worthwhile activities. And all this in the context of promoting high standards of aspiration and discipline.

Flying, teaching and then co-founding a business each failed to curtail his enthusiasm for cricket and rugby where he performed quite well while dedicating large amounts of time to helping other players.

Since the late 1960s he has served in officer roles in County schools and youth cricket and rugby, and a number of England roles too in both sports, including coaching several national youth teams.

A past cadet himself, in 1968 he was commissioned in the RAFVR and became Adjutant and then Commanding Officer of a school’s Air Training Corps Squadron.

In March 1976 a chance remark in a classroom prompted a pupil to suggest he should be in politics. Having never voted David said he’d have a go at anything and that evening the pupil’s mother telephoned to ask what party he was with. Following the exchange, “Which party are you with”, “Conservative of course” and “Well, that’ll do” David was, by May, a Gravesham councillor! After 41 years, and convinced that he chose the right party, he continues to be a Conservative councillor and has held many senior offices including Mayor of the Borough in 1986 and Leader of the Council.

At the age of 75 he would like to slow down and leave things to younger men and women but these days volunteers are increasingly hard to find. So he soldiers on as Leader of the Council, Chairman of Governance of the Schools section of the Rugby Football Union, Chairman of the Talent Pathway Executive of Kent County Cricket Club (enjoying overseeing the development of talented players from 12 years old until they become the next generation of fine club players or obtain a professional contract) and Secretary/Treasurer of Kent Schools’ Rugby Football Union, as well as President of this and that!

Pam and David have lived in Istead Rise since the 1970s and raised two fine sons there, Mark and Tim.

Award of the Freedom of the Borough is heart-warming, but his mind sees around him all those who have worked with him to help young people reach the optimum level of their potential, as players and as adults, and the officers of the council who have ensured delivery of many aspirations. Nonetheless, he is very proud for himself.

Date made Honorary Freeman: 16 May 2019

Biography (from 16 May 2019)

John was born in November 1962 in South London and was brought up in Bermondsey before moving out first to Forest Hill and then onto Meopham in 1969 when he was six. John joined the local infant school in Meopham before going up to the Juniors. When it came to senior school John transferred to Kings School Rochester.

The early school years were difficult for John as it was not until he was about thirteen that it was confirmed that he was dyslexic. This diagnosis explained his difficulty in learning from set written texts despite his good level of learning when using the spoken word. This caused school reports to say “he learns well but does not apply himself during tests”. This experience has stayed with John to this day. It is why he believes more should be done to understand and support children’s individual learning needs so as to allow every child to fulfil their full potential.

After getting a Degree at South Bank Polytechnic in 1984 (now known as London South Bank University), John qualified as Chartered Building Surveyor in 1987. He has worked within the building and property estate industry since that date. In 2000, John became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building Engineers whilst managing the Building Control and Fire teams at London Underground.

For the last 16 years John has been either freelancing, or working though his own company to give him the time required to act as Council Leader on two separate occasions and as Opposition Leader in-between.

John’s political career started whilst at school having joined the Labour Party at sixteen, much to the surprise of his colleagues at the time. John was first elected to Gravesham Borough Council in May 1987. John will have served as a Borough Councillor for 32 years come this May. During that time John has been the Council Leader from 2003 to 2007, again from 2011 to 2015, and Opposition Leader during the periods in-between.

In addition to the above, John has served on most committees of the Council since his first term, the only exception being the Licensing Committee. He remains the only Council Member who has been both Leader and Opposition Leader. John has also served as both Chair and Vice Chair of the Scrutiny Committee; a committee formed when the Council took on the Cabinet System of local government to replace the old committee structure.

John’s outside experience on local bodies has been as a member of Northfleet Age Concern since 1989 and as Chair of Age UK (North West Kent) since May 2011. This gives him 30 years unbroken experience of this charity.

In addition, John is a Director of The Grand, a Community Interest Company in Gravesham, which deals with issues involving youth through to the elderly within the community.

Date made Honorary Freeman: 16 May 2019

Biography (from 16 May 2019)

Robin Theobald’s parents moved to Shorne soon after he was born in 1944. He attended the local Shorne Primary School before moving to the Gordon School for Boys for his secondary education. When he left school, he attended a one-year full-time general building course at Gravesend Technical College before starting an apprenticeship with G A Rattray (building contractors in Gravesend) to become a carpenter and joiner.

He continued to attend the Technical College studying general building in addition to the trade course. He attained a Full Technological Certificate in Carpentry and Joinery and a Higher National Certificate in Building. He added a number of endorsements to his HNC to become Licentiate of the Chartered Institute of Building. He moved from building into civil engineering working for the Port of London Authority on the Tilbury Dock Extension before becoming the Chief Draftsman of Consulting Engineers, Peter Fraenkel and Partners working in Victoria.

It was there he met Juliet who became his wife in 1985. They have two daughters, Lucy and Katy, one of whom is married. He later became a Contracts Engineer managing marine projects on Thameside and in the Shetland Islands.

Robin is a member of Shorne Parish Council having been co-opted onto the Council in 1974 and has twice served as Chairman. Acting on behalf of the Parish Council, he petitioned the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Bill and appeared before the Select Committees in both Houses of Parliament to secure undertakings to protect the local environment.

Robin was elected to the new Gravesham Borough Council in 1976 as a member for Shorne, Cobham and Luddesdown. He immediately became Vice Chairman of the Planning Committee having been spotted by the Leader of the Council reading the Town and Country Planning Act on the train. In 1979 he became Chairman of that Committee. Robin has taken an interest in the environment including serving for a number of years as Chairman of the former Thameside Committee for the Abatement of Atmospheric Pollution. He also chaired the Council’s Special Projects Committee dealing with the development of industrial estates and the St George’s Shopping Centre.

Robin served as Deputy Mayor in the municipal year 1992/93. He served as the Cabinet member for Planning and Regeneration in 2007. Robin has represented the Council on the South East England Development Board, the National Society for Clean Air, the Kent Downs Area of Natural Beauty Joint Advisory Committee, the North Kent Marshes Internal Drainage Board and the Planning Committee of the Ebbsfleet Garden City Development Corporation.

Robin is a founder member of the local amenity society, the Dickens Country Protection Society, formed in 1972, under the chairmanship of Dr. Colin Smith to oppose the Cliffe Oil Refinery. When Dr. Smith retired in 1995, Robin took over as Chairman. He took a leading role in opposing the proposed Cliffe Airport in 2002 and has been active in opposing the Lower Thames Crossing since 2011.

In his leisure time, Robin enjoys listening to classical music (he is attempting to learn to play the piano), visiting historic houses, photography and singing in the Shorne church choir.

Date made Honorary Freeman: 16 May 2019

Biography (from 16 May 2019)

Mick was born at Ashley Down Nursing Home on 20 December 1945 and had an exceptionally happy childhood. He first went to school at St John’s, Edwin Street, and then at the age of 10, he went to University School – Bexley and left aged 16 to work in London for a time.

Mick loved sports, boxing, athletics, swimming, rugby, rowing and horse riding. He was Kent junior boxing champion for 3 years running and played rugby for Gravesend and the Old Boys for over 30 years.

After leaving school Mick followed a long family tradition and was apprentice to his father as a Watermen & Lighterman, after five years gaining his Freedom.

Mick joined the Tug company Ship Towage in 1962, stayed until he retired as a qualified tug master in 2010 and he still works on the river part-time. Mick is on the committee of the Sea Cadets, member of the British Legion and parishioner at Christ Church.

Mick has written a weekly article, called ‘River Views’, in the Gravesend Messenger for the last 15 years.

Mick married his wife Pamela in 1972 and has 2 fine boys, Michael and James, a daughter-in-law Kyoko and 3 grandchildren Ronnie, Charley and Frankie.

Mick served as a local magistrate for 15 years until retiring in 2015, 20 years as a local Councillor and has been Deputy Mayor and Mayor.

Thanks to his wife’s encouragement he took up bee keeping 36 years ago and still does and yes, they still sting him.