'Many of my constituents will have been a saddened to learn of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh'

MP for Ellesmere Port

MANY of my constituents will have been a saddened to learn of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99 at Windsor Castle last Friday.

They will have paid their respects in their individual ways in the last few days and their thoughts of condolence will of course be with the Queen and other member of the Royal family.

On behalf of my constituents I attended Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip at Chester Cathedral on Sunday afternoon.

Because of Covid-19 restrictions only a small congregation were invited to this socially distanced occasion but the hour-long service, led by the Dean of Chester Cathedral, the Very Rev Dr Tim Stratford, is available to be viewed again on the Chester Cathedral YouTube channel. Flags have been lowered at Council buildings in Ellesmere Port and across the Cheshire West and Chester Council area during the mourning period. Council leader Cllr Louise Gittins has written to Buckingham Palace to express deepest condolences on behalf of the Borough.

An online Book of Condolence will be available locally until Sunday, April 18 which can be found at http://tolbc.com/ChesterHRHPPTributes .Books of condolence to sign are also available at places including Ellesmere Port Library, where the Mayor of Ellesmere Port, Cllr Michael Edwardson, signed it on Monday morning.Anyone wishing to express a message of condolence who does not have access to the internet can Civic Team staff members and relay their message on 01244 972214 or 01244 977074.Alternatively, as the Duke of Edinburgh had connections with so many charities and other organisations, some residents may like to make contributions to those good causes.

Prince Philip paid a number of visits to Ellesmere Port and Chester during his long life of service to the nation. He was known to have a considerable interest in science and technological developments and will no doubt have been pleased way back in February, 1985, to drive the flagship Astra GTE at the Vauxhall factory in Ellesmere Port.Much more recently, in May, 2012, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh stayed in Ellesmere Port overnight in the £50 million luxury yacht Leander, moored at the National Waterways Museum. They were visiting Chester Zoo where the Queen opened the Diamond Jubilee Quarter as part of her jubilee celebrations.The Duke of Edinburgh also attended the official opening by the Queen of the £12 million Blue Planet Aquarium in 1998, designed to resemble the shape of a crashing wave. At that time the Cheshire Oaks structure was the largest aquarium in the UK and is still the largest in North West England. Among his many visits to Chester Prince Philip joined in Queen when they opened former the County Hall building in 1957 and, a decade later, they paid a visit to the old Cheshire Police HQ. Perhaps the visit that most people remember (well I certainly do) was way back in 1979 when Prince Philip and the Queen visited the Civic Hall and the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum.

Perhaps his greatest connection to the constituency though is through the many constituents who will have developed their life skills by successfully completing bronze, silver and gold awards in the Duke Of Edinburgh Scheme.