Press Release

IWA Stoke on Trent branch PRESS RELEASE Date: 16 October 2008

OSBORN BRIDGE

New landmark celebrates historic work of waterways volunteers

On Sunday 19th October one of the Stoke on Trent’s newest landmarks will be named “Osborn Bridge” to celebrate the work of two North Staffordshire volunteers who were at the heart of helping to save the city’s historic waterways heritage and enabling thousands to enjoy our canals.

“Osborn Bridge” celebrates the work of Pat & Millie Osborn, indefatigable fund-raisers and waterway volunteers. As members of the Stoke on Trent branch of The Inland Waterways Association (IWA), Stoke on Trent Boat Club, and the Trent & Mersey Canal Society they were instrumental in campaigns to re-open Harecastle Tunnel, save Anderton Boat Lift, replace Trent & Mersey Canal mileposts and commission a statue of James Brindley at Etruria.

Nationally Pat and Millie practically supported the restoration work of the Waterway Recovery Group, including the rebuilding of several locks on the Montgomery Canal, and the staging of innumerable canal events and IWA National Waterways Festivals.

In North Staffordshire many thousands of children have experienced and continue to enjoy the local waterways aboard a boat of The Beatrice Charity, thanks to Pat and Millie’s tireless fund-raising, tenacity and maritime skills that instigated and guided this Caldon Canal based organisation.

Stoke Road canal bridge over the Trent and Mersey Canal will be named Osborn Bridge on Sunday 19th October 2008; family, friends and the press are invited to gather from 10.30 for the ceremony commencing at 11.00. Bridge name plates and an interpretation panel outlining Pat and Millie’s work will be unveiled, with VIP guests arriving aboard narrow boat “Beatrice”.

Pat Osborn passed away in 2004; the funeral of his widow Millie, who was most recently cared for at the Douglas Macmillan Hospice, takes place at Carmountside on Friday 17th October 2008. They met while actively serving in the Royal Navy and the Women’s Royal Naval Service during World War II; after demob Pat and Millie married and settled in Stoke on Trent.

Directions to Osborn Bridge and car parking follow. The idea of the celebratory bridge naming was conceived and brought to fruition by volunteers of the four organisations named on the panel; they would like to thank the following for their permissions and enabling of this project: Stoke-on-Trent City Council planning team, the Highways Agency, OPTIMA Infrastructure Management and British Waterways.

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For further Information & to arrange photo opportunities on Sunday contact:

Julie Arnold, IWA Stoke-on-Trent branch

Tel: 07712 897075                  E-mail: julie@waterwayimages.com

Photo attached: PDF file of Osborn Bridge interpretation panel, at A4 low resolution (actual size A1)

Notes for Editors:

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity, founded in 1946, which advocates the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the inland waterways for public benefit.

IWA has about 18,000 members whose interests include restoration, towing path walking, industrial archaeology, boating, nature conservation and many other activities associated with the inland waterways. The membership of IWA Stoke-on-Trent branch extends throughout north Staffordshire and south Cheshire -  from Middlewich, through Stoke to Stone and Sandon, and out to Bosley, Leek, Froghall and Uttoxeter; they campaign to increase awareness of their local waterways - the Caldon, Trent & Mersey and Macclesfield canals – and the plans to restore the derelict Uttoxeter Canal.  (Reg. Charity No.212342)

IWA works closely with navigation authorities, other waterway bodies, a wide range of national and local authorities, voluntary, private and public sector organisations to raise funds, lobby for support and encourage public participation in the inland waterways. The Association also supplies voluntary labour through its subsidiary Waterway Recovery Group.

More than 500 miles of canals and navigable rivers have been re-opened to public use since the Association was founded in 1946. Currently another 500 miles of derelict inland waterways are the subject of restoration plans. Further information can be found at www.waterways.org.uk and www.wrg.org.uk.

Stoke-on-Trent Boat Club - founded in 1957 - moved from Stoke to Endon on the Caldon Canal in the 1970's, when the A500 “D-road” was built across their original home. The club's aim is the promotion of boating on inland waterways and elsewhere, particularly advocating boating in North Staffordshire, through their home city on the Trent & Mersey Canal and into Staffordshire Moorlands via the Caldon Canal following the river into the beautiful Churnet Valley.

The North Staffs Handicapped Children’s Boat Committee was conceived in 1976 by IWA Stoke-on-Trent Branch to provide a boat for children with special needs in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire. Pat & Millie Osborn led fund-raising and operations from the outset until their retirement from voluntary work. It was renamed and re-registered as The Beatrice Charity in 2002.  Beatrice - the charity's purpose-designed passenger boat - will be cruising to Stoke from Cheddleton, the base from where it provides day-trips for children with a need to get afloat. (Reg. Charity No. 1089860)

The Trent & Mersey Canal Society was formed in 1973 as a campaign group when the closure of Harecastle Tunnel at Stoke on Trent severed the line of this 93 mile cross-country waterway; roof falls closed the tunnel temporarily and permanent closure was a very real possibility. The group galvanised support and turned public disinterest and official reticence into positive action; Harecastle Tunnel was reopened in 1977 just prior to the celebrations marking the Bicentenary of the canal. Similarly, the Society battled for many years to save Anderton Boat Lift after its closure in 1983, fund-raising and driving a campaign that led to 10 Downing Street. Partnerships resulted in the turn-of-the-century iconic restoration project that reopended the Lift in 2002. The Society continues to care for and promote the Trent & Mersey Canal. (Reg. Charity No. 326498)

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Directions & Map

Car Parking will be available in the private car park of DPC Accountants,

Vernon Road

, Stoke on Trent, ST4 2QY. All cars will be left at the owner’s risk.  

From the South:

Take the A500 towards the City centre. Leave at the third exit; this is just after where the A50 joins the A500. Proceed down the slip road, past pedestrian crossing lights then keep in right hand lane and turn right at the traffic lights. Follow signs to “Station”; this means going under railway bridge, turning left at roundabout. At the second traffic lights, turn left in to

Station Road

(there is a misleading “No left turn “ sign here). You will pass Stoke Station on your left; the North Stafford Hotel is opposite. At the end of

Station Road

, turn left and get immediately into the right turning lane as you go under the railway bridge. Turn right into

Vernon Road

and park by DPC Accountants.

From the North:

Take the A500 towards the city centre. Leave the A500 at the junction after the A53. Turn left at the end of the slip road, then left again immediately, before going under the railway bridge. This is

Vernon Road

: park by DPC Accountants.