SOUTHPORT
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29 January 2020
Vol 27 l Issue 5
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British Legion to close respite centre for forces veterans
BATTLE TO SAVE BYNG HOUSE LOST Promenade building will be put up for sale, say charity chiefs Report by Danielle Thompson BYNG House in Southport - which offers respite breaks to forces veterans and their families - is to close and the building put up for sale, the Royal British Legion confirmed this week. The Champion first raised fears over the future of Byng House last November but in a decision ‘not taken lightly ’ the RBL, which owns and funds the imposing Promenade building, say the centre will shut its doors for good as part of a cost-cutting exercise. The Legion was set up to help World War I veterans nearly a century ago and since Byng House was opened 10 years ago by Prince Andrew, it has been a firm destination for members of the armed forces community who are lonely, have combat stress, are in hard times financially, or even terminally ill. The facility is no longer offering stays and shuts each year for staff training and ‘deep cleaning’ during December and January. However, the Champion understands the centre will not now re-open. The imposing Byng House on the Promenade, Southport.
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Poignant sculpture marks 75 years since Auschwitz liberation
THE sculpture, above, ‘Out of Darkness into the Light’ was created and designed by staff and students at Sefton’s New Directions to mark 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz. Students with disabilities created the poignant piece of art to coincide with Holocaust Day on Monday, January 27. More than 200 Sefton residents marked the occasion in a special service held in the town attended by the Mayor of Sefton, Cllr June Burns, Southport MP Damien Moore and the Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside, Mark Blundell.
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