Commemorating 70 years since Victory in Japan

Saturday 15th August 2015 marks the 70th Anniversary of Victory in Japan (VJ Day)

This important anniversary of VJ Day is being marked by national charity COFEPOW, as part of its aim to ensure that World War Two Far East Prisoners of War are never forgotten.

Key events to commemorate Victory in Japan Day

Saturday 15th August 2015

At 2pm, there will be a Service of Remembrance at Lichfield Cathedral to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of VJ Day. There will be an Address by Terry Waite CBE, and the service will be followed by performances from the West Midlands Fellowship Band and the West Midlands Police Choir.

Sunday 16th August 2015

At 12.15pm, there will be a service at the COFEPOW Memorial Building at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire. The service will be conducted by David Childs CBE RN (Rtd) and will be followed by the blessing and re-dedication of the building and the opening of the new FEPOW Remembrance Garden. There will also be a Royal Air Force fly past by a world famous DC-3 Dakota Transport Plane.

Key facts about Victory in Japan

• At 6.10 on the evening of 15th February 1942, Lieutenant General Percival surrenders to the Japanese in Singapore.

• Almost 200,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers became prisoners of war in the Far East.

• Thousands were held in Singapore’s Changi Prison, where many died.

• Thousands more left Singapore on prison ships – “hell ships” – to be used as forced labour in other parts of Asia.

• Nearly 10,000 of these men died building the Burma-Thailand railway.
• Thousands of others died as a result of starvation, barbaric treatment and tropical diseases.

• Civilians fared no better. Tens of thousands were killed by the Japanese.

• The Japanese surrendered on 15th August 1945.

• By then, 50,000 prisoners of war had been killed.

Our new client is just the ticket

Ethos public relations is proud to announce it will be working with Janet Redler Travel and Tourism to help promote the tour operator’s services across the USA and Europe.

Janet Redler

Janet Redler Travel and Tourism, which has offices in Shrewsbury and Montgomery, specialises in designing tailor-made tours to the UK and Europe, with many of its customers travelling from the United States.

Speaking about the link up, Chief Executive Janet Redler said she was looking forward to working with Ethos public relations to help raise the profile of her business and to promote Wales and the borders to potential overseas visitors.

Janet said: “Europe, and especially the UK and Wales, is a great draw for American visitors due to the fantastic variety of destinations and our rich heritage. At the moment, the very favourable dollar exchange rate is also helping to attract people from the US. Working with Ethos public relations, we are really looking forward to raising our profile further and bringing more visitors to experience all that the UK and Europe has to offer.”

Shaun Fisher, a Director at Ethos public relations, who has first hand experience of American business, said: “We are really looking forward to working with Janet and her team to help promote the services they provide to a wide audience. Janet Redler Travel and Tourism is a great fit for our business as we both share a passion for travel and the international bonds and friendship it can bring.”

Ethos public relations will be helping Janet Redler Travel and Tourism with a wide range of communications support, including public relations, social media and website support.

For more information visit Janet Redler Travel and Tourism.

Father and Son cycle across England to commemorate Victory in Japan Day

A father and son cycling duo from Lostock Hall, Preston are cycling across England to raise awareness of the plight of World War Two prisoners of war.

Paul and James Housden cycling for COFEPOW

Paul and James Housden are cycling for COFEPOW

Paul Housden and son James are cycling across Lancashire and Yorkshire from Morecambe to Bridlington to raise funds for national charity, COFEPOW, which is dedicated to keeping alive the memory of prisoners of war held in the Far East in World War Two.

More than 200,000 allied civilians and service personnel were taken prisoner by the Japanese in February 1942. By Victory in Japan Day some 50,000 of these people had died.

Says Paul: “My father was a POW in the Far East and it is so hard to conceive what he and thousands of others went through. COFEPOW exists to ensure this important part of history is kept alive.”

Son James is keen to help raise funds for COFEPOW as away of recognising his grandfather’s contribution: “Having listened to dad talk about some of the things granddad and his fellow captives went through, it’s very important that the coming generations have knowledge of what happened to the forgotten army.”

The ride, which will take two full days of cycling across the Lancashire and Yorkshire dales and moors, and says Paul: “We will face a total climb of 4,222 ft and some 141 miles, but compared to what my Father went through, it is a small effort to pay tribute to him and his fellow POWs.”

If you would like to sponsor Paul and James, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/Paul-Housden and to find out more about Far East Prisoners of War visit www.cofepow.org.uk.

Business with vision for manufacturing in England

Quantock Clothing, a Warwickshire-based business setup in 2014, is seeking to reinvigorate the smart casual menswear market with its vision of sourcing entirely from English manufacturers and promoting the ‘Made in England’ brand.

Grev Lushington founder of Quantock Clothing

Speaking as Quantock Clothing launches additional lines to its range, founder Grev Lushington from Rugby, said: “At Quantock Clothing we manufacture all of our products in England and are committed to developing high quality, stylish and desirable ranges that are also accessibly priced. Made in England does not have to mean unaffordable”.

According to Grev, people have a growing desire to understand more about the provenance of their clothing; who makes it, how it is made and under what conditions. “When you look at this, it makes total sense to push a ‘Made in England’ agenda – we do things well in this country and we value our people”, he says.

Add to this an understanding of what is involved in bringing clothing from far afield regions such as the Far East to retail stores in the Western World, and you start to consider the sustainability of the practice currently adopted by many brands. The scale of operations, distances involved and sheer complexity of logistics before anything is even sold, is not always appreciated.

Adds Grev: “We work with high quality manufacturers throughout England and have greatly appreciated their support and dedication to help us bring our vision to life. In addition, we have a strong commitment to provide exemplary levels of service to our customers and believe the future promises to be very exciting, indeed.”

Currently, the Quantock Clothing range includes jeans, button down shirts, knitwear, polo shirts, belts and cufflinks all designed and made in England.

www.quantockclothing.com

The top three hotels in the world

In his latest blog, Sean looks at customer service excellence in the hospitality sector.

Recently, a discussion in the office turned to the number of hotels we have visited since Ethos public relations was founded in 1998.

Over these 17 years we must have stayed at hundreds of hotels, both for business and pleasure.

We have stayed in budget hotels to get our heads down after a long business meeting; big conference venues in Brussels, Prague, Berlin and Birmingham, to name but a few; small bed and breakfasts with friendly owners, and corporate chains with less than friendly temporary (and overworked) staff.

It didn’t take long before we started comparing the various stays and, rather than focusing on the negatives of any particular stay, we thought about the top three hotels we had stayed at.

Now, the results, which we tweeted recently, are not very scientific. There was not a tick box questionnaire, review website or analysis of value for money, but rather we thought about the best overall experience in a hotel.

Before we repeat the results, it’s true to say that we cannot recall staying in any really awful hotels. It’s true we have experienced bed bugs, bins being emptied at 6am, reservations cock-ups, loud guests and un-adjustable heating/air conditioning but, in general, hotels and their staff are very capable.

In our 17 years of trading, we must have stayed in hundreds of hotels. Our top three are @HIellesmereport, @hadley_park and @GMelia_Victoria

— Ethos PR (@EthosPR) April 16, 2015.

Our shortlist of our top three hotels in the world – yes we know that’s terrible PR hype – is: the Gran Melia Victoria in Palma, Mallorca, the Holiday Inn, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire and The Hadley Park Hotel in Wellington, Shropshire.

Hadley Park Hotel

In many ways these hotels couldn’t be more different. One looks over the Mediterranean, another the Manchester Ship Canal and the third is surrounded by a business park.

Holiday Inn Ellesmere Port

But the similarity is in their focus on customer service, or at least as we received it. Public relations, we always tell our clients, is about the way customers and guests perceive you and the experience they receive when interacting with your business.

Gran Melia Victoria

In these three hotels we have received customer service that made us feel valued, as though the employees of the hotels really enjoyed our visit. Now of course we know the hospitality industry spends a fortune on guest customer service training and the service we received might be down to that. But somehow, I think it is down to something much more basic. I think these hotels employed nice people. And that is worth so much more than corporate brand, stunning location, posh grub or free wi-fi.

Savings boost for London Capital Credit Union

London Capital Credit Union has had one of its best months ever, with member savings rocketing by £300, 000 in March alone.

The credit union saw its savings deposits grow by almost 4% last month, taking the total amount of member savings to over £7.75 million for the first time.

Martin Groombridge, Chief Executive of London Capital Credit Union, said: “2015 is proving to be another exceptional year for us, with more people than ever turning to the credit union to find a safe home for their savings.

“With bank interest rates at rock bottom, the dividend offered by London Capital Credit Union looks very attractive – last year, for example, we paid 1.2% on all of our members’ savings. For an instant access account, this rate of return is not to be sniffed at.”

Martin adds that many people are also turning to the credit union because they like its ethics and philosophy of putting customers first.

“As a co-operative owned and controlled by its members, people like the fact that their money is staying in the community and not being used to generate profits for investors or speculators.”

London Capital Credit Union is dedicated to promoting saving and helping people deal with debt and now has over 11,000 members.

“At London Capital Credit Union, we believe that one of the best ways of keeping people out of the clutches of payday lenders and other high interest lenders is to encourage a savings habit and, by putting a little bit away each month, people can soon build up a pot of money to cover any unexpected expenses,” says Martin. “We are pleased that our message is getting through and that more and more people now see the credit union as a good place to save.”

London Capital Credit Union provides secure savings and low cost loans for anyone living, working or studying in Barnet, Camden, City of London, Hackney, Haringey or Islington. As a locally owned and run co-operative, all the money saved in the credit union stays in the community and is used to help other local people.

Find out more at www.credit-union.coop.

Ellesmere Port sea shanty festival

The fifth national Sea Shanty Festival returns to the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port over the Easter weekend (3-5 April 2015).

A major sea shanty festival returns to the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port and is expecting to see over 3, 000 visitors come along to three full days of maritime singing. The annual festival is dedicated to keeping the tradition of sea shanties alive, in its spiritual home, Merseyside.

According to Julia Batters of Shanty UK, the Festival has gone from strength to strength over the past five years and is now an important event on the Sea Shanty Calendar. Julia said: “Our Easter Sea Shanty Festival is our way of marking the rich tradition of sea shanties. The festival provides a welcome day out, with plenty for the whole family.

Canal boats at Ellesmere Port – Sea Shanty Festival

“The museum is a great backdrop to the festival and during the weekend visitors will be able to hear traditional and modern maritime songs being sung around the museum and on some of the boats.”

Coinciding with the Annual Boat Gathering at the museum, the Shanty UK festival brings together nearly 100 performers in seven different venues within the museum for three exciting days of singing, concerts, boat trips, museum tours, nautical poetry, face painting and much more.

The highlight of the Festival will be two evening concerts taking place within the museum on Friday and Saturday nights, which feature a number of acts from across the UK and Europe.

Hissy Fit at Ellesmere Port Sea Shanty Festival

Hissy Fit in concert at Ellesmere Port Sea Shanty Festival 2014

Entrance to the National Waterways Museum for the Sea Shanty Festival and Annual Boat Gathering costs £6.50 for all three days (10am – 5pm). Tickets for the evening concerts are £11 each night and can be reserved online at http://www.shanty.org.uk/our_festival

Ten years of growth for London credit union

London Capital Credit Union has welcomed the latest figures from the Bank of England which show that credit unions have grown dramatically over the last decade.

While the most recent figures from 362 credit unions show credit union membership and lending have more than doubled over the past ten years, figures at London Capital show a thirty-fold increase in members, from 321 to 10,062.

Over the last ten years, London Capital Credit Union has also seen a 1400% increase in members’ savings from £436,000 to over £6 million.

The latest Bank of England figures are great news for British credit unions,” says Martin Groombridge, Chief Executive of London Capital Credit Union. “Since the first credit union was set up in Britain over 50 years ago, the sector has continued to thrive and it is good to see that growth has gathered pace in the last ten years.

“As our figures show, London Capital is one of the credit unions leading the charge and we are so proud to be delivering affordable financial services to thousands of Londoners.”

London Capital Credit Union is dedicated to promoting saving and helping people deal with debt. It provides secure savings and low cost loans for anyone living, working or studying in Barnet, Camden, City of London, Hackney, Haringey or Islington.

Across England, Scotland and Wales there are now over 1,173,200 people with credit union accounts.

As a co-operative, London Capital Credit Union is owned and controlled by its members – not outside shareholders. Members of the credit union can find out more about how their organisation has performed over the past year by attending the AGM which takes place on Tuesday 3rd March 2015, starting at 6.30pm in the Peel Centre, Great Percy Street, WC1X 9EY.

Find out more at www.credit-union.coop.

Charity call for wartime artefacts

COFEPOW member Patrick Toosey with a Samurai sword brought back by his father.

COFEPOW, a national charity dedicated to keeping alive the memory of prisoners of war held in the Far East in World War Two, is asking people to hunt out any mementoes or artefacts passed down by parents and grandparents from their time in captivity.

2015 sees the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Japan and COFEPOW, a charity set up to perpetuate the memory of Far East Prisoners of War and raise awareness of the suffering they endured, is keen to track down any artefacts such as letters, photographs or diaries brought back from the Far East by prisoners of war.

COFEPOW (Children and Families of Far East Prisoners of War) was founded by Carol Cooper, the daughter of a prisoner of war who discovered her father’s wartime diary advertised for sale and decided to set up a charity to keep alive the memories of Far East prisoners of war (FEPOWs).

Seventy years on from VJ Day, the charity wants to make sure as much precious material as possible is recorded to commemorate this important anniversary, to help recognise the enormous contribution made by individual FEPOWs. So, COFEPOW is now looking for local people who might have almost forgotten artefacts hidden away.

Says Keith Andrews of COFEPOW: “Many of us have artefacts and mementoes stored away that were passed down by our parents and grandparents from their time in the Far East. We want to find more of these valuable artefacts to record them for future generations, and that is why we asking local people to help.”

COFEPOW member Patrick Toosey from the Wirral is backing the initiative: “When my father, Brigadier Toosey, returned from the Far East he brought back a Samurai sword from one of his Japanese captors. When I was a child, my father didn’t mention the war and what he went through, but this sword is now a permanent reminder to me of his suffering.”

Keith added: “The artefacts people have are often not valuable in financial terms, but they do mean a great deal to the families of prisoners of war. Anyone interested in letting us know what they have will be helping us preserve this valuable archive material for the future.”

If you would like to help or to find out more, please visit http://cofepow.org.uk/pages/appeal_keeping_memories_alive.htm

Season’s Greetings

As another year comes to an end, it’s traditional to have a glass of sherry and a mince pie and to reflect on the year that was.

2014 will be a memorable year for Ethos public relations as we made the move from an office based PR agency in Manchester into a more flexible operation in Shropshire.

Public relations, like many business sectors, has changed enormously over the last few years. In the past we have blogged about how email, social media and electronic forms of communication have come to dominate the way we work, requiring much more flexibility in the way we communicate on behalf of our clients.

As the year draws to an end, that trend couldn’t be more starkly illustrated than by the news that Trinity Mirror are closing several of its print editions, including the Reading Post. The way we all consume news and information has continued to change at a fast rate and we have always aimed to keep clients up to date with these changes.

We will be closed over the Christmas break from lunchtime on Christmas Eve until Monday 5th January 2015, but we will, of course, in this digital age, be checking our emails, social media accounts and text messages!

We wish all our clients, suppliers, friends and future clients the very best and a Happy New Year!