Stephen Coates, President of Bakewell & District Historical Society and Bakewell Old House Museum giving a detailed presentation of John Blake and his work On Thursday 18th September at Bakewell Town Hall, dignitaries and guests learnt about the ‘Mystery of the Missing Mural’. In 1945 Private John Blake, an Army soldier who had been stationed in Bakewell during WWII, painted a huge mural on the rear wall of the Assembly Room in the Town Hall, the Mural was some 30ft wide by

Albert Keir, a veteran who helped to liberate Europe from the Nazi occupation, has died at the age of 100. Albert Keir was part of the D-Day naval crew which assisted American troops landing on Omaha Beach in France on 6 June 1944. Albert was awarded the Freedom of Derbyshire on 12 February 2025 in recognition of his service and achievements. Albert had been working as a painter and decorator after leaving school at the age of 14, and was a member of the Local Defence Volu