Cherishing the Memory of Jim Pennington

时间:2022-05-07 10:18:20

On the morning of November 19, 2008 when I turned on my computer, I saw emails respectively from Annette Wight, twinning officer of the Policy and Performance Division of the Cheltenham Borough Council, and Ian Johnson, secretary general of the Weihai Link. In the emails they told me sadly that our common old friend Jim Pennington had passed away at home on the night the day before, only 5 days earlier from his 94th birthday. I was deeply grieved.

Jim Pennington was born in 1914 and grew up in Essex. He served in the Royal Navy and after leaving the navy he once worked for the Unilever. In 1963 he with his family moved to Cheltenham, a famous medium-sized garden city located in the central part of Cotswolds in central England, 100 miles northwest of London. It is surrounded by the green forest belt, the high yield grain growing area and the famous natural scenery zone at the edge of Cotswolds hills. In 1991 Jim Pennington was elected mayor of Cheltenham. The term as mayor was only one year. In the following year he was elected alderman whose position was next only to mayor. In 1999 he was made honorary town freeman that enjoyed privileges. In 2001 he was conferred upon the MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his active services to the community as the first chairman of the Keep Cheltenham Tidy Group and president of the Parklands Community Centre. He was commended by the local media as “Cheltenham’s most capable and active community leaders.”

Jim Pennington was very much interested in China’s history, particularly its modern history. He talked with gusto about the Red Army’s Long March and had a systematic knowledge about the development of modern China. He was good at oil painting. In 1974 he visited Chairman Mao’s former residence. Even today the oil painting Shaoshanchong he created is still hung at his home. He had devoted himself for a long time to the friendship between the U. K. and China and served as vice president of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) and president of the Cheltenham local branch of the SACU. In September 1985 accompanied by the staffers of the CPAFFC, he visited Weihai and was fascinated by the city, which led to the signing of the agreement on establishing friendship city ties between Cheltenham and Weihai in May 1985. Cheltenham is Weihai’s first international friendship city. Later he founded the Weihai Link in Cheltenham. Once every month the Weihai Link holds an activity for following China’s development with interest, such as discussing problems related to China or making plans for exchanges with Weihai and also for deepening affection among its members. He often went to London, Gloucestershire and other places to give lectures on China and many times published articles about China in China Eye, a magazine run by the SACU. Alexis Cassin, incumbent alderman of the Cheltenham Borough Council, said, Jim Pennington’s love of China was an important part of his interest in the world’s political, cultural and social development.

Vigorously promoted by Jim Pennington, Cheltenham and Weihai have been carrying out active friendly exchanges in the economic, educational and cultural fields. Even in 1989, the friendship ties between the two cities were not suspended. In July 1991, Mr. Paul from Cheltenham and the Weihai Plastic Co., Ltd. jointly established the Weihai International Plastic Cup-coffee Co., Ltd. In early 1992, the Cheltenham park management department openedspecial area for friendship with China (Weihai) in a park. In the area there were flowers, trees and a small stream over which was built a bridge of Chinese style, showing the features of oriental China. In April 1994, Cheltenham organized a youth tourist group to visit Weihai. In April 2004 a Weihai friendly economic and trade delegation visited Cheltenham. Many activities were held during its visit: the Weihai Day, a meeting for delegation to brief on the investment environment in Weihai, a photo exhibition of 100-year Weihai and a Weihai folk music concert. In the past years, Cheltenham sent three teachers to Weihai for short-term study and invited three English interpreters from Weihai to Cheltenham to have half a year free English training. The Weihai Link has exhibited more than 50 large-size colour pictures showing the new look of Weihai in Cheltenham and Gloucestershire, and helped the Weihai Municipal Archives Bureau collect precious historical materials about Weihai when leased to Britain. Musician John Dunton came to Weihai to collect children’s and folk songs. After returning home, he gave two lectures about them on the BBC music programme. Jim Pennington had made painstaking efforts for all these activities and the Weihai Municipal Government conferred upon him the title of Honorary Citizen of Weihai which he fully deserved. In May 2008 Ian Johnson told me that Jim Pennington even when lying in his hospital bed often discussed with him about the plan of friendly exchanges with Weihai. Some of the plans drawn by the two cities ten years before had not yet been implemented. Mr. Pennington was concerned about it all the time. Ian Johnson suggested that I write to Pennington to assure him the bright prospect of the exchanges between the two cities.

In April 2008, I, together with Zhang Jianguo, director of the Weihai Municipal Archives Bureau, went to the U. K. to collect the historical materials about the Chinese labourers during the First World War and Weihaiwei. During our stay there we had planned to visit Cheltenham on April 26 and pay a call on Jim Pennington and some other old friends and have a talk with Ian Johnson about the sales of the English version of the book Weihaiwei under British Rule that the Weihai Municipal Achieves Bureau had sent to him earlier. After Christmas in 2007 Pennington was hospitalized. He was very weak and could concentrate his attention for only about 10 to 15 minutes. On the evening of April 24 when I talked to Ian Johnson on the phone, he said, after having consulted Pennington’s two sons, and also taking our tight schedule as well as Jim’s health condition into consideration, he suggested that we give up our plan of seeing Jim at the hospital so as to avoid causing him too excited. Under such a circumstance, we cancelled our original plan. It was truly regretful that we lost the final chance to see him again.

On December 1, 2008, the Cheltenham Borough Council held the Jim Pennington’s funeral in St. Mary Church. Over one thousand people including government officials, his family members and friends attended the funeral. Many British media gave coverage to it and his life.

Jim Pennington was a good friend of the Chinese people, an envoy of Sino-British friendship and a founder of the friendship-city ties between Weihai and Cheltenham. He had spared no efforts to strengthen the friendship between the Chinese and British people and promote friendly exchanges and cooperation between Weihai and Cheltenham. We will always remember what he has done and feel very proud of having such a good friend. His death is a great loss to the cause of friendly cooperation between Weihai and Cheltenham and even between China and Britain.

Mr. Jim Pennington, we will cherish your memory forever!

(February 22, 2009)

The author is deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Weihai Municipal Government and permanent council member of the Weihai Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

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