Thatcham has been twinned with Nideggen, Germany, since 1973 but how did it come about and what has the partnership achieve?
A big thank you to Franz-Josef Brandenburg[1] and Peter Routledge[2] for their fantastic help in putting this article together, there is more to come on this topic.
Although there was a great deal of work being done it was not until 1973 that the Thatcham Twin Town Association (TTTA) was officially inaugurated. Mr Peter Routledge was the main driving force behind the project and became the first chairman. Peter had moved to Thatcham in 1971.
Over in Nideggen, Germany, councillor Erich Lowartz had attempted a twinning but had not been able to convince the council. Mr Franz-Josef Brandenburg, a teacher at Nideggen secondary school, managed to contact Peter Routledge of the TTTA, the TTTA wanting an official partnership to proceed further. Peter flew out to meet with Franz to discuss arrangements. There was a problem getting the council there on board quoting costs of visits as a problem. Thankfully Franz and Peter persevered and manage to form an unofficial partnership.
Later, an initiative called “Sister City for Nideggen” held their first public meeting on 11th July 1973 where the chair of the provisional committee, Mr Franz-Josef Brandenburg, welcomed everyone and introduced the purpose of the initiative. Before proceeding the meeting agreed, formally to create an association in Nideggen with the official named “Interessengemeinschaft Europäische Partnerschaft” (European Partnership Interest Group). The group would later be renamed Partnerschaft Nideggen (Nideggen Partnership). The official election of officers then followed with Franz-Josef Brandenburg as chairman, Edmund Fuhs as vice-chairman, Hildegard Lückenbach as secretary, Rainer Golde as treasurer, Gertrud Wuwer as the youth worker and Editha Brandenburg as press officer. It was agreed that Mr Brandenburg should travel to Thatcham and make official final arrangements for the twinning of the two settlements.
Mr. Brandenburg visited Thatcham between 15th and 20th July 1973 to finalise arrangement for the twinning of Thatcham and Nideggen. Whilst here he was able to visit the village centre, including Monks Chambers, Kennet School and St Mary’s Church. On returning to Nideggen Mr. Brandenburg, on 27th July 1973, reported his trip noting an invitation had been made for a group from Nideggen to visit Thatcham for a 10 day stay. The TTTA had arranged a programme of events for the 15 young visitors. Mr Brandenburg said:
“I would like to say the following about these visits: the first impression of Thatcham was also somewhat different from what I had expected from the pictures available to us, the hospitality was very, very impressive, although the English are actually said to be restrained.”
Franz-Josef Brandenburg, 1973
He went on to note:
“I later had to realize here that you can’t compare things abroad with those at home. You have to see the peculiarities of the host country as something quite different. And besides, we don’t want to go to Thatcham as tourists, but as friends without prejudice. England has many new things to offer us. Especially the little things of everyday life are so interesting. Thatcham seems like a good suggestion to me.”
Franz-Josef Brandenburg, 1973
A meeting on 22nd August allowed Mr. Brandenburg to show a slideshow of his visit to Thatcham. A discussion at the meeting took place to finalise arrangements for the first official group visit to Thatcham between 4th and 14th October.
Back in Thatcham, the first young visitors from Nideggen arrived in October 1973 under the leadership of Franz Josef Brandenburg. The exchanges saw pupils from Kennet School in Thatcham travelling to Nideggen and pupils from Nideggen Secondary School travelling to Thatcham and this is what covered most of the partnership. Easter 1974 saw a group from Thatcham made the return trip to visit Nideggen.
The second AGM of the TTTA was held on 21st June 1974[3] at Kennet School, the meeting chaired by Mr Henry Jefferies who was chairman of the Thatcham Chamber of Trade. About 50 people attended the meeting including representatives from the Nideggen Twin Town Association such as Herr Paul Heck. There were several guest speakers including Franz-Josef Brandenburg, the chairman of the Nideggen Twin Town Association, and Mrs Phyllis Davies who was Mayor of Thatcham. Mrs Davies was the first mayor of Thatcham in the newly created Thatcham Town Council (TTC). Mr David Wootton showed films of the Nideggen carnival which he, and other members of the association, had the pleasure of seeing first hand earlier in the year. Herr Brandenburg spoke overwhelming of the hospitality he and his colleagues had found in Thatcham. He invited the people of Thatcham to visit Nideggen whenever they wished. Mrs Davies then spoke about just how rapidly, in just a year, the TTTA had grown saying the she thought it was the “best thing that had happened to Thatcham in many years.” Executive officers for the following year were then elected as Mr Peter Routledge as chairman, Mr Peter Gildersleves as vice-chairman, Mr Nick Carter as Secretary and Mr Alan Vaughan as treasurer.
Official recognition of the TTTA came from Thatcham Town Council in 1975, the council having only just, in 1974, changed from a Parish council to a Town council. The Thatcham Walkers group organised a nature walk around parts of Cold Ash and Hermitage for a group of 43 including visitors from Nideggen. The guests presented members of the walking group with Nideggen badges.
However not all was well. The TTTA wanted to arrange a visit to Nideggen, TTC had already made a grant towards it but Newbury District Council refused to give any money towards trips of such a nature. At the end of 1975, on 6th December a formal reception for the Mayor of Nideggen was held at Crown Court.
The year 1976 saw a big achievement after many years of work a sign recognising the twinning of the two towns was unveiled. The sign was funded by the TTTA and placed on the A4 to the west of Thatcham. It was unveiled on 17th August and included 10 guests from Nideggen along with Thatcham Town Mayor and TTTA chairman Mr David Wootton, Mr Peter Routledge and TTC Clerk, Mr B Jerram[4].
In 1978 Mr Siegfried Vallei became chairman and in April 1979 Mr George Pickersgill, Thatcham Town Mayor, welcomed a group from Nideggen. A reception was organised for 10th April for the group was due to be held at Thatcham Memorial Hall but due to an arson attack had to be changed at the last minute to Crown Court[5].
Throughout 1979 the TTTA arranged several events for members and the community. A bonfire party was held on 4th November and a German themed dance was held at the Beverley Club on 23rd November, together with a fish and chip supper! The Wessex Club as the venue for a skittles evening in December and there were film evenings for the youths.
Around 70 people attended a 10 year anniversary dance that was held at Thatcham Memorial Hall in 1983 and arranged by the TTTA. Two small commemorative plaques were unveiled to mark the occasion, one of which was taken back to Germany and placed in the Nideggen Town Hall.
During the following municipal year, the Town Mayor, Frank Hutchings welcomed children from Nideggen. The children had come for a two week stay starting with a welcome event at Thatcham Memorial Hall. The children attended the Ordnance Depot annual band concert, had a trip to Bournemouth along with a disco at the Acland Hall in Cold Ash. There was a trip to London and a visit to Eton College, all crammed into the two weeks before the children had to leave on 20th August.
The new TTC offices were opened in 1984, council staff officially leaving the old building, 20 Chapel Street (Police Station) by 31st July 1984. A reception of 20 visitors from Nideggen was held, the first to visit the new offices. The Town Clerk, Mr Peter Rusted, had made a speech in German. Thatcham Town Mayor, Mrs Margaret Barrett also spoke to the visitors. Other guests included Lieutenant-Colonel John Evans from Ordnance Depot and Mr David Wootton who gave the visitors a tour of Thatcham.
In 1985 Thatcham Tornadoes, a football club, were given permission to take three teams to play matches in Nideggen at Easter. The players were all aged between 12 and 16. Matches were played annually for some time with the location alternating between Nideggen and Thatcham.
Keith Bright became chairman of the TTTA in 1986. The following year saw another recognition of the connection with Nideggen, this time with the official naming of a new road, Nideggen Close[6]. In 1988 Mrs Vivian Druce became chairman of the TTTA.
On 13th August 1993 a group from Thatcham visited Nideggen and on their return, 17 Nideggen youths and two leaders returned to visit Thatcham. The 20th anniversary of twinning was celebrated in Thatcham in 1993 and in Nideggen a commemorative publication was prepared.
Pupils from Kennet School, with two staff, visited Nideggen in July 1994.
August 1997 saw 15 students from Nideggen arrive in Thatcham for a 10 day exchange programme. Various events were arranged including a trip along the Kennet and Avon Canal.
In 1998 the 25th anniversary was celebrated in Nideggen. There was an attempt from the German side to revive the partnership at this time between the two secondary schools. This had the backing of Ron Higgins, a governor at Kennet School, Thatcham. Unfortunately, the attempt failed and the secondary school in Nideggen formed a partnership with a school in Kayseri in Turkey.
On 2nd October 2003 in Nideggen, Franz received the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for your many years of commitment to the common good in the social sphere. The district administrator noted Franz critical role in establishing a partnership between Thatcham and Nideggen in 1973 but went on to note his involvement in several volunteering roles, associations, and the key role he played in the “Children help children” campaign, along with publishing a number of articles on the history of Nideggen.
Summary
A partnership between Nideggen and Thatcham was established in 1973 in no small part due to the efforts of Peter and Franz. From 1973 until at least 1998 exchanges between the two saw pupils learning about each other’s towns and countries, exchanging their cultures and learning from one another at various events[7]. It enhanced and gave a great experience to many people in over two decades. The partnership flourished but sadly didn’t last. Will it be revived? Will any other partnerships be formed?
References
- [1] Brandenburg, F. (2023). Thatcham Twinned with Nideggen. [personal communication].
- [2] Routledge, P. (2023). Thatcham Twinned with Nideggen. [personal communication].
- [3] Anon (1974). Twin-town boost for Thatcham. Newbury Weekly News. 27 Jun.
- [4] Anon (1976). Sign links towns. Newbury Weekly News. 19 Aug.
- [5] Anon (1979). Newbury Weekly News. 12 Apr.
- [6] Tubb, R.B. (1991). Thatcham Road Names. Thatcham: Henwick Worthy Books.
- [7] Anon (1975). Newbury Weekly News. 1 May.