Looking back on 2008 in the West Midlands
Dec 21 2008 by Kat Keogh
Mick Swindells memorial
Friends and family of the brave detective constable gathered for a tearful ceremony at the spot where he was stabbed by paranoid schizophrenic Glaister Butler in 2004.
A guard of honour stood to attention as a granite stone was unveiled on the western bank of the Tame Valley Canal, close to Spaghetti Junction. Among a crowd of more than 200 mourners were Det Con Swindells’ widow Carol and daughter Kelly, who led the tributes, as well as West Midlands Police Chief Constable Sir Paul Scott Lee.
Det Con Swindells was stabbed as he raced to help colleagues who were trying to arrest Butler after the knifeman had threatened passers by with the blade.
Duncan Edwards memorial
Fifty years after one the Midlands’ most famous footballing sons was killed in a plane crash, Dudley fell silent in a solemn tribute.
Duncan Edwards was just 21 and had a glittering football career ahead of him when he perished along with 22 others in the disaster which claimed the lives of eight of the famous Manchester United team dubbed the Busby Babes.
The squad has been flying home from a match in Belgrade and the pilot was making a third take-off attempt when the plane skidded and crashed off the end of the slush-covered runway in Munich, where they has stopped to refuel.
Dudley came to a halt for a moving tribute as more than 1,000 people gathered to mark the anniversary of the 1958 crash.
‘Blind’ Dave Heeley’s marathon feat.
The 50-year-old West Bromwich father of three became a record breaker and an inspiration to millions when he took one of the toughest challenges on earth – despite being blind.
Dave Heeley, who became known to the nation as Blind Dave, completed a gruelling seven marathons in seven days, each in a different continent. By the time he crossed the line in London he had pounded more than 183 miles through blistering heat, wind and rain and jetted 29,000 around the globe.
Blind Dave stole the headlines, but partner and guide Mac Carr was with him every step of the way. more>
Tory Party Conference.
The red carpet was rolled out as 15,000 delegates, lobbyists and journalists descended on the city for the Conservative Party Conference in September.
The three-day event at the ICC boosted Birmingham’s economy by an estimated £20 million, thanks to increased trade for the city’s hotels, bars, shops and restaurants.
Conservative leader David Cameron praised Birmingham as a “great” conference city and said the Tories had been impressed with the regeneration of the city centre. He said: “Where better to have the largest conference we’ve had in recent times than in what is, outside of the capital, Britain’s economic powerhouse and most visited city.”
New Street Station Plans.
Billed as an iconic new gateway to Birmingham, plans for the revamped New Street Station will cement the city’s place as one of Europe’s style capitals.
The £600 million scheme is the brainchild of principal architect Alejandro Zaera-Polo, who wanted to create a vibrant and bright hub for a truly world-class city. Plans, unveiled in September, include covering the station with reflective sheets of metal and digital displays in an atrium designed to flood the station with light.
The design will double passenger numbers by building a bigger concourse, increasing the number of escalators and lifts and improving pedestrian links with eight entrances.
Gerry Tobin Trial.
The final journey of Hell’s Angel Gerry Tobin brought the shadowy world of biker gangs into focus following his murder in August 2007. Seven members of the Outlaws motorcycle gang were jailed for life at Birmingham Crown Court in November this year for Mr Tobin’s murder as he rode along the M40.
Two shots were fired at the 35-year-old biker from two different guns as he returned to his south-east London home from the Bulldog Bash biker festival in Long Marston, near Stratford-upon-Avon.
During the seven-week trial, the jury was told that the mechanic was targeted by the rival gang simply because he was a “fully-patched” Hells Angel. more>
Matt Croucher George Cross.
A heroic Solihull marine who dived on a grenade to save his comrades became one of the few living recipients of the George Cross this year.
Lance Corporal Matt Croucher flung himself on the Taliban booby trap and walked
