Parish of Mickleham - A
big thank you to John Batt
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from the
June 2005 magazine
A big thank you to John Batt At the end of the church meeting, John Banfield,
Churchwarden of St Michael’s paid tribute to John
Batt who, over a period of 10 years, had produced a
series of summer concerts.
These concerts, which were the
highlight of the summer for many villagers, became so
popular that from 1998 the entire show was repeated each
autumn. Altogether John provided 18 evenings of
tremendous entertainment and raised almost £50,000 for
St Michael’s Church which in itself is mighty
impressive.
But in addition he infected us all with
his love of music and gave those who were involved in the
productions hours of fun and the opportunity to work with
some very special people.
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As a memento of his magnificent achievement,
John Banfield presented John with a book containing a programme
of each of the shows along with copies of the associated articles
and reviews of the shows which had appeared in the parish
magazine. Also included were personal messages from the cast,
band and production staff of the last show ‘Fascinating
Rhythm’ in July 2003.
There was no concert last summer and the loss
of this source of revenue is very apparent in the church
accounts. Luckily for us John has agreed to organise a new
fundraising event for the church this summer: ‘Moonlight
Serenade’ which promises to be a memorable evening
– not to be missed! Book your tickets now, tell your
friends. Sue Tatham
MOONLIGHT SERENADE
An evening of delicious food and wonderful music in aid of St
Michael’s Church
At Juniper Hill, Mickleham
Monday 1st August
7.30 p.m. Black Tie
The BERKELEY SQUARE SOCIETY BAND
Ian Parkin (Polly) of the Jonathan Ross show
Gina and Joanna Batt
You won’t be thrown out if you dance/don’t dance!
Tickets £35: 01372 373912/377201
Award for John Batt
November 2003
Solicitor Stephen Clark, (husband of Sally Clark, whose
conviction for murder was overturned), Mike Mackey, Sally’s
criminal law solicitor who had conduct of the trial and two
appeals, and John Batt, who, for three years, researched
new developments in the law and medicine relating to cot
deaths, won the Law Society’s Gazette Centenary Award for
‘The most significant contribution to the law/legal
profession in 2002/2003’. The award was sponsored by
Invaro, a company which provides high quality, personal
injury claims to solicitors.
John Humphries of the Today
programme, presented the awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel,
London on the evening of 12th November at a black-tie dinner for
1,000 guests. In making the presentation, John Humphries said:
‘The story of Sally Clark has been well documented. This
award recognises the tireless efforts over the last five years of
three core members of her legal team, including her husband, who
were crucial in rectifying a monstrous miscarriage of
justice. Five years ago, Sally Clark was wrongfully convicted
of the murder of her two babies. On 29th January 2003 the
Court of Appeal overturned Sally Clark’s conviction. As she
read her statement on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice,
Sally Clark was supported by her husband Stephen Clark, with John
Batt and Mike Mackey behind her as they had been throughout. They
are a credit to the legal profession’.
Many congratulations, John
Stolen Innocence – A Mother’s
Fight for Justice, The Story of Sally Clark by John Batt is
published by Ebury Press at £14.99
from the July/August 2004
magazine
Stolen Innocence A Mother’s Fight
for Justice – The Story of Sally Clark, by John Batt
Stolen Innocence written by John Batt was launched at
Dartmouth House home of the English Speaking Union on June 14th.
The book tells the story of Sally Clark, who was wrongfully
convicted of the murder of her two sons and served over three
years in jail for something that never happened. When John began
writing the book he asked me to read the first draft. I had no
insider knowledge of the case and could give him the reactions of
someone unfamiliar with the detail of the story. John is kind
enough to say he found this useful.
Stolen Innocence tells
two parallel stories. There is the story of Sally Clark herself,
much of it in her own words, describing the loss of her two sons,
the disbelief at being charged with murder, her life in prison,
the despair of the failed first appeal, the emotion of eventual
release and the difficulty she is facing in trying to resume a
normal life. Parallel to this is an amazingly intricate detective
story in which family, lawyers, friends and volunteers eventually
piece together the real causes of the two tragic deaths so
ensuring the success of the second appeal. The events described
in the book are a serious indictment of a legal system which
could perpetrate such a miscarriage of justice and of the
forensic scientists whose ‘expert’ evidence was so
flawed.
And in the middle of all this sits
the story teller John Batt. John tells how in August 1999 he
called on an old friend Frank Lockyer to discover that his
daughter Sally was about to go on trial for murder. From that
moment John devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to
Sally’s case and almost five years later the story that
unfolded is published. The surroundings for the book launch
seemed to me a long way removed from the tragedy of the story
being told. The grandeur of Dartmouth House on a beautiful summer
evening contrasted starkly with the loss of two sons and a
dreadful miscarriage of justice.
Four people spoke. Michael Mackey,
Sally’s solicitor, Clare Montgomery QC, counsel at the
second appeal, Sally’s husband Stephen and John Batt.
The passion and determination of these four must be the reason
why Sally Clark is free today. The message was clear. The tragedy
of someone falsely accused of murdering her own children, the
effort that went into securing a successful appeal and then the
broader implications for the criminal justice system and in
particular the role of the forensic science experts who condemned
Sally Clark to prison. Clare Montgomery repeated a remark she
made in an address to the British Academy of Forensic Sciences in
February. ‘Sally Clark had not killed her sons, they were
not murdered…This grotesque miscarriage of justice was the
result of flawed evidence given by forensic scientists.’ The
story is sad and the emotion was very evident. John Banfield