.31 swmmv 3):. 199§:(C)

opened at 1.10pm.

  

    
    

by SlAN NAPIER.

THE Dover—bound caniageway of
the A2 in Canterbury was closed
for- almost 12 hours on Saturday
after a Polish lorry jack—knifed and
tumedover following a collision
with a transit van.

No one was seriously hurt in
the accident, which happened just
after 2am, about a mile from the
Wincheap slip road.

The lorry was travelling
towards Dover when it was
involved in an accident with a
broken down transit van which
was parked partly on the road and
partly on the grass verge.

All Dover-bound traffic was di-
verted through Canterbury. Radio
trafific walmings were broadcast
advising motorists to keep away
from the area,

The lorry driver and two people
from the van were taken to Kent
and Canterbury Hospital with
shock and slight iniuries and re-
leased after treatment. Four other
peo le in the van were not hurt.

e road was eventualbr re-

The Iorrystraddlos the A2 on its side at Harbledown

n-j

 


I l

€31

  chool report is
a birthday bonus

A VILLAGE school has two reasons to
cheer— its 25th birthday, and an out-
standing Ofsted report for excellence.

Bridge and Patrixbourne Church of England
 School has received top marks fi'om
inspectors of the Office of Standards in Educa-
tion.

“This outstanding report has got our silver
jubilee off to a fantastic start,” said school head
Anna Newton.

Ofsted says the school provides a  standard
“of education and there is an orderly community
-.\,where children feel safe, secure and enjoy attend-
,.~ing.

“It is a vibrant, interesting place to be, with an
excellent ethos. It provides very good value for
money and its standards are well above the
county average,” the report states.

The education is balanced and the quality ‘of
learning and teaching is good, with examples of
outstanding practice throughout the school.

Mrs Newton is praised for her “good leader-
ship” and her teachers, the report adds, have a
wide knowledge and understanding of the nation-
alcurriculum.

The only blemishes noted by the inspectors
were a hedge around the pond which has now

7 been cut down, and parents have been asked t

notify the school on the first morning of the.
child’s absence. ‘

“The governors are very proud of this report as
it shows that the teaching, management and ethos
of the school are of the highest level,” said
chairman of the governors Grace Goodman. '



Lieutenant-Colonel
Douglas de Cent, OBE,
soldier and diplomat,
‘died on October 18 aged
77. He was born on
September 15, 1918.

IT WAS typical of Douglas de
Cent that he once said: “Es-
cape gave me my own liberty
and kindled a desire to help
those who were still, or des-
tined to become, prisoners."
During the Second "World
War he escaped from the
hands of the Axis powers on at
least two occasions and this
led to his involvement with the
Special Forces.

Douglas Cecil de Cent was

. born in Bridge, near. Canter-

bury, Kent. His father was a
naval surgeon who spent
much time in the Pacific.
Originally, he wanted to be a
pianist, although this was not
considered to be a suitable
career by his family.

On the outbreak of war in
1939, he enlisted as a private in
the Kent Yeomanry. In the
spring of 1940 he was sent to
France as a gunner with the
British Expeditionary Force.
Before long, like tens of thou-
sands of others, he returned
via Dunkirk.

Having been selected for
officer training, he rejoined
his regiment as a subaltem
and found himself in the
Western Desert by way of
South Africa, Bombay and
Mesopotamia. At one time, he
escaped death by a hair’s
breadth when a German shell
splinter passed by his face.
However, the real turning
point of his career came when
he was taken prisoner.

Jumping off the prison lor-
ry, he escaped in the company
of a colonel and almost suc-
ceeded in reaching British
lines before being recaptured.
From there de Cent was
transported to Italy and in-
terned. In prisoner of war
camps at Sulmona and in
Bologna. the escape attempts
continued, despite a tunnel
collapsing on one occasion
when a heavily laden donkey
walked over it.

He finally escaped just as
his camp was being taken over

 

LT-COL DOUGLA

by the Germans after the
Italian surrender. Then began
a 500-mile walk through Italy
towards Allied lines. It was on
this arduous and dangerous
but ultimately successful
march that he first met his
second wife Gillian. She had
also escaped from the Italians
after having been interned
earlier in the war.

On returning to England, de
Cent put his new-found skills
to good use, serving with the
Special Forces under Airey
Neave. He was concerned
with all aspects of the escape
and evasion of prisoners and
collecting intelligence. During
this time he was instrumental
in helping to snatch back to
safety the survivors of the ill-
fated Arnhem airborne opera-
tion of September 1944.

With the war over, he be-
came engaged in the investiga-
tion, administration and
distribution of aid, which in
turn led to diplomatic work in
Belgium, France and Den-
mark. He was also engaged in
writing official war histories
and was second-in-command
and then commanding officer
of 23 SAS.

The war in Korea created a
demand for specialist tech-
niques and services in support
of Allied troops. In 1951 de
Cent was approached by the
Ministry of Defence to orga-
nise and command an inde-
pendent. joint-service special
operations formation directly
responsible to London. As a

lieutenant—co1onel at the age of
32, he was responsible for
intricate land, sea and air
operations and commanded
an intelligence school. He was
engaged in training units of
the Commonwealth Brigade
and US Forces in techniques
of evasion and escape. He was
appointed OBE for his service
in Korea. .

After a spell commanding a
survival school in Austria and
work at the Ministry of De-
fence, de Cent was appointed
military attache to the British
Embassy in Laos. After three
years in IndoChina. he was
posted as head of the indepen-
dent consular mission to east-
ern Indonesia, Dutch New
Guinea and Portuguese Ti-
mor. which was the largest
territorial mission of its kind
in the Diplomatic Service.

Upon leaving government
employ in 1963, de Cent put
his diplomatic and intelli-
gence—gathering experience to
good use, becoming director of
press and public relations at
the Royal College of Nursing.
At the RCN he instituted the
annual members’ congress
and exhibition as well as the
house newspaper, the Nursing
Standard. He was also re-
sponsible for the planning and
organisation of several nota-
ble pay campaigns. _.

He summed up his press
and public relations philoso-
phy as “to speak the truth, to
meet deadlines, carry out
promises and to keep a low
profile. I was there to promote
the college, not myself." After
20 years, he retired in June
1983.

Apart from his military and
diplomatic careers Douglas de
Cent was also active in sup-
porting charity and relief
work. aiding a Korean or-
phans’ school and a school for
blind children. A private and
modest man, he was noted for
his love of cricket, opera, good
food and, especially, his gener-
osity when opening his excel-
lent and extensive wine cellar.

He was married three times
and is survived by his third
wife Theodorine and both his
previous wives. He also leaves
a son and a daughter.