A COUNCILLOR is celebrating a quarter of a century serving on Harwich Town Council.

Monday marked Garry Calver’s 25-year anniversary as a Harwich town councillor.

The milestone makes Mr Calver the fourth longest serving Harwich town councillor behind Bill Bleakley, Stephen Henderson and Dave McLeod.

Mr Calver, now 62, said: “It is a precious memory that it was Peter Brand who told me that I had been elected in 1995.

“He was watching the votes pile up, turned to me and whispered in my ear, “Congratulations, councillor.”

“It means a lot that it was Peter who confirmed my election.”

All these years later Mr Calver said he is amazed, delighted and very proud to still be a councillor on Harwich Town Council and to be joining a small group who have represented the town for 25 years since the council replaced the old borough council in 1974.

He added: “There have been good times and bad along the way but it has been a great honour to serve alongside some remarkable councillors and very talented officers who have achieved a great deal for Harwich and Dovercourt.

“I am very grateful to everyone who has voted for me over the years and allowed me the privilege to represent our town.”

Some of Mr Calver’s most unforgettable memories in the past 25 years include meeting the Queen in 2004, and the Archbishop of Canterbury back in the year 2000.

However, the moment he is most proud of was his role in the 2016 commemoration of the execution of Captain Fryatt, Garry’s grandfather, William James Calver, having sailed under Captain Fryatt on the TSS Brussels.

He added: “To stand in between Alison and Lynsey whilst ringing the Brussels bell at Captain Fryatt’s graveside on the centenary of his execution is an honour that, in my role as a councillor, will never be surpassed.

“I am always very proud of our town but the pride I felt at that moment is something I will never forget.”

Harwich Town Council consists of 16 members elected to serve the interests of local residents and address the communal needs of the town and surrounding area.