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New Mayor for Basingstoke and Deane |
Cllr Warwick Lovegrove was appointed Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane at Thursday's (Thursday 10 May) Mayor-making ceremony, held at the council’s Civic Offices.
First elected as a councillor in 1987, Cllr Lovegrove represents Tadley North ward and sits on the Development Control Committee.
Cllr Lovegrove’s first family moved to Tadley in 1956, when his father started employment at AWRE in Aldermaston, and he attended Burnham Copse Junior School.
Attending the Mayor Making ceremony was Maurice Bound, former headteacher of Cllr Lovegrove’s old secondary school The Hurst Community College in Baughurst, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
On leaving school at 17, Warwick joined the Royal Navy as a radar operator serving on the destroyer HMS Cambrian. After qualifying as a submariner, he joined the submarine HMS Valiant. Throughout his time in the Navy, Warwick travelled to many parts of the world, including Borneo, Aden, Singapore and Hong Kong.
During the Western Fleet review in 1969 in Torquay, he met Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Phillip and was chosen to demonstrate an underwater telephone to the Royal couple.
The new Mayor has worked at Eli Lily since 1978, before that working for Smiths Industries when he first left the Navy in 1973.
Cllr Lovegrove lives in Tadley with Mayoress wife Carol, who is a carer for people who are elderly and disabled. The couple have four children, including identical twin daughters, and five grandchildren.
The Mayor will be supporting four main local appeals as his chosen charities for his year in office.
Some of the funds raised will be given to the Children’s Society Young Carers’ Initiative to provide support in schools in Basingstoke and Deane for the young carers, who look after parents and other relatives.
Money raised during the year will also go to buying equipment for a sensory room at Fir Tree Lodge. This is a purpose-built home in Tadley, supported by SeeAbility, offering a residential service for six adults with a visual impairment and additional complex needs.
The Mayor is keen to contribute towards the £25,000 the North Hampshire Medical Fund is hoping to raise to buy new state-of-the-art airway equipment that could save lives for patients suffering breathing complications during surgery at the hospital in Basingstoke. This video fibre scope has been requested by anaesthetic consultants for their use.
A project to create a quiet room for breast cancer patients to use following diagnosis at North Hampshire Hospital, will also be supported by the Mayor.
The Mayor would like any additional funds raised to go to the NSPCC’s Full Stop campaign against child cruelty.
Cllr Lovegrove said: “I am delighted and honoured to be chosen as Mayor and look forward to serving the people of Basingstoke and Deane. My year in office will give me the opportunity to meet people who give so much to the community and make the borough such a rich and varied place to live.
“I wanted to chose local causes as the charities for my year in office that will benefit and support people of all ages in the borough.”
Cllr Lovegrove’s hobbies include watercolour painting and Sudoko puzzles.
Cllr George Hood was appointed Deputy Mayor at the same ceremony and will stand in on occasions when Cllr Lovegrove is not available
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