Twin Exchange a great success

Above: View of Moers

Main: The “Team” pictured during their visit to Moers with (back left) Eric Melling, (back right) PC Mark Jones, (front left) PC Chris Unwin and (front right) PC Brian Dyson

In May this year, a group of young boys from Alt Bridge Secondary Support Centre, accompanied by teacher Eric Melling and local community policemen, Mark Jones, Brian Dyson and Chris Unwin, visited Huyton’s twin town of Moers in Germany. The group spent a week in Germany, engaging in a wide variety of activities, including visits to Cologne and the Borussia Dortmund football stadium.

PC Brian Dyson, who organised the trip, told Huyton Today, “The idea was to take a group of children from Alt Bridge across to meet young people from the equivalent school in Moers. We decided to take twelve boys who basically made up a football team which gave us a focus for the boys and a reason for us to go. We wanted to give the boys a chance they wouldn’t normally have to go abroad and meet other children from a similar background and type of school, but in a different country.”

“We also wanted the young people to be able to see the other side of the police,” added Brian. “We spent a week living in a youth hostel with them. It gave the boys a better idea that the police come from the same community and we are all the same kind of people really.”

PC Mark Jones told us, “One of the best things about the trip was the way the boys mixed so well with the German children. They met for the first time on the Tuesday morning and by the end of the week a lot of them had made very good friends.”

This was despite the fact that no one in the Huyton party spoke German and very few of the German youngsters spoke any English. “It was remarkable to see how well they all got on despite the language problem,” said Brian.

Alt Bridge teacher Eric Melling, who accompanied the boys thought the trip, was a resounding success. “We had excellent hospitality from the teachers, the police and the German youngsters. It all went beyond our expectations.”

Police contact

In addition to the opportunities presented to the boys, the visit was the first time that there has been contact between the two police forces in twenty years of twinning. PC Brian Dyson attracted a lot of attention as he joined German police officer Gerhard Tersteegen on patrol through the market. “Everyone wanted to take our photograph,” he said.

Planning for the visit began mid-1999 when Brian, Mark and Chris began the process of raising the £5,000 they needed. After contacting local businesses, charitable trusts and other sources of funding and with the help of the North West Regional Youth Exchange Committee, the team soon had the funds they needed, enabling Brian and Eric to make an initial visit earlier this year to plan activities for the week.

Supporters of the scheme included the Sports Council, the KMBC Community Chest, Marconi and Contract Chemicals (Kirkby).

All involved, especially the boys themselves, felt that the visit had been a real success. For the boys, the highlights included meeting two of the Dortmund team during their visit to the ground, and the food.

Return

A further exchange is planned for this coming September when a group of young people from Moers will be visiting Huyton. German PC Gerhard Tersteegen is hoping to be amongst those who will experience Huyton hospitality and join Brian and his colleagues on the beat.