FRIENDS and family of a "larger than life" character who survived Dunkirk and D-Day – and a tree crashing into a car in which he was travelling two years ago – have paid tribute to him after his death.
Second World War veteran Les Salter died at St Catherine's Hospice last Wednesday morning, aged 93.
The father of two and grandfather had lung cancer and had been given a month to live – but survived another three.
Mr Salter leaves behind his wife of 63 years, Dorothy, who lives at Cedar Lodge, on Brighton Road, in Southgate.
His friend of 30 years Jim Chitty, who was driving the car they were in that was struck by a large falling pine tree when leaving Ifield Golf Club in 2012, paid tribute to an "exceptional person".
Asked what he would remember most about Mr Salter, Mr Chitty said: "His tremendous sense of humour.
"I am wonderfully privileged to have had him as a friend. I became friendly with his family and I admire his wife and his family greatly.
"He was an exceptional person. He once paid me the greatest compliment in my life; he told someone I was the most gregarious person he knew and was proud to call me a friend.
"That's the most wonderful compliment coming from him."
Mr Salter, who moved with his family to Crawley from Hertfordshire in 1962, loved playing golf and cricket.
Mr Chitty has fond memories even of the tree fall, which left them trapped together in the car for half an hour before firefighters freed them.
"It was quite fun," Mr Chitty said. "It was very lucky we weren't coming straight home. It would have killed us if we'd turned the other way.
"The second we started to move the tree came down and there we sat and it was quite a shock.
"He said to me 'Jim. A tree's fallen on us'. I said 'you're right Les'. Then we couldn't get out."
Having survived the Battle of Dunkirk and D-Day, Mr Salter went on to become captain of Ifield Golf Club in 1983 and played at the course for more than 50 years.
Mr Chitty said: "He was on the beaches at Dunkirk. He experienced the bombings of the troops on the beaches. He never talked about it much but he did tell me it was a very terrifying experience."
Such was Mr Salter's military prowess, Mr Chitty thinks his friend "should have been a general, instead of Eisenhower – the war would have all been over in a second".
Mr Salter ran a business called South Eastern Plastics in Crawley for about 15 years, which he sold when he reached his early sixties.
Linda Parker, Mr Salter's daughter, said: "My dad was just a larger-than-life character. He was very involved in a lot of things. He played cricket for Three Bridges when we first moved down."
"He was an avid reader," the 61-year-old, from Ash Road, Three Bridges, added. "Dad got so interested in the Sharpe books that he became quite an expert on the Peninsular War.
"He loved reading non-fiction – political and sporting biographies.
"He was one of eight and his father was a World War One veteran."
Mr Salter's friend Tony Herbert, from Hollybush Road, Northgate, remembers one of Mr Salter's war stories in particular, which demonstrates typical bravery and calmness under pressure.
The 72-year-old said: "At Ifield Golf Club Les and I were part of a small group called 'Early Risers'; we started early in the morning. Les was chairman of the group and we met up for a drink or a meal frequently after the game.
"We always asked Les to speak as he was such an interesting man and there was always humour to his stories.
"In the Second World War Les was I believe in the 'West Kents' and he was evacuated from Dunkirk and later on he took part in the D-Day landings in Normandy and at that time was attached to the Royal Engineers.
"The engineers had to build a 'Bailey bridge' across a river, this they had to do whilst under fire from the Germans.
"When the bridge was halfway across an officer came down and told them to take the bridge down as they had captured a bridge intact.
"They had to dismantle the bridge still under fire and erect it somewhere else."
THE mother of a two-year-old girl who suffered severe burns as a baby after accidently spilling a cup of tea over herself is trying to raise awareness of the dangers of hot drinks.
Lola Parker received full-thickness burns, the most serious form of burns, to 9 per cent of her body at her home in February last year. She was 11 months old at the time.
Her mum Catherine, 29, from Holmcroft, Southgate, has spoken of how well Lola has recovered since the accident, thanks to the specialist treatment she has received at Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH), in East Grinstead.
Catherine said: "She's actually doing really well. First of all the pressure garments (to help the healing process) were prescribed to be for two years but she's out of them already because she's healed so brilliantly.
"The pressure suit made her face look different because it went up to her neck and made her look chubbier than she is. The suit was a bit of an eyesore.
"And she's started playschool since stopping wearing the suit. That's something else we haven't had to deal with – people asking questions about the suit."
Lola has scarring to her shoulder and her arms, but not to her face, and is otherwise as "cheeky as any other two-year-old".
Catherine added that the worst scarring is on Lola's thigh, from where skin was taken to be grafted to her shoulders and arms.
Mum-of-three Catherine said: "As time has gone on, in the first months you are in the hospital every couple of days, then every week, then every month.
"When we were last at QVH in April we were told we wouldn't have to go back for a year.
"That was brilliant. It was a relief – the first step to getting back to normal. Your life is ruled by hospital appointments."
QVH is the region's specialist centre for burns treatment and has a dedicated facility in its Peanut Ward for children who have suffered burns.
On average, the hospital sees 15 new children with serious burns every single week and two thirds of them will be under five years old.
The most common causes of child burns requiring hospital treatment are scalds from hot drinks and burns from unattended hair straighteners.
Burns often cause lifelong scars which surgery and treatment can never remove.
QVH burns consultant Baljit Dheansa said: "Burns and scalds are the fourth largest cause of hospital admissions for under fives, even though they are largely preventable.
"Babies and children are particularly vulnerable to burns as their skin is much thinner than an adult's."
QVH specialists are supporting Burns Injury Awareness Day today (Wednesday) when the hospital's lead children's nurse Nicola Senior and her colleagues will be manning a public information stand in Queens Walk in East Grinstead from 10am to 2pm.
Like the QVH team, Catherine is keen to raise awareness of the dangers of hot drinks.
She said: "Just keep hot drinks away from children. Keep children out of the kitchen.
"You wouldn't leave a gun on a table or a sharp knife, or a vicious dog nearby.
"A hot drink can be just as dangerous. But we are English and the English love their cups of tea.
"The amount of people who have said to me after showing them the original photograph of Lola how shocked they were and how they couldn't believe it could have caused that much damage."
Nicolas De Launay admitted possession of both drugs when he appeared at Crawley Magistrates' Court on October 10. The 38-year-old was caught with the drugs on September 18.
He is due to be sentenced at the same court next Friday.
De Launay, from Harbolets Road, West Chiltington, is currently on bail and must spend each night at his home address. He also pleaded guilty to failing to attend court when he was due to on October 8.
Diane Dinnage, 57, from Selsey Road, in Broadfield, drove her Vauxhall Astra into a fence on Seaford Road on September 28.
She gave a breath test of 59 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.
At Crawley Magistrates' Court last Wednesday the court heard she had no memory of drink-driving because she had been taking medication for depression. Dinnage, who works as a carer at Rowfant House care home, pleaded guilty to drink- driving. She was disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay a £130 fine, a £20 victim surcharge and £85 costs.
A SPATE of violence, graffiti and vandalism in Broadfield over the last fortnight has sparked fierce debate over whether antisocial behaviour is getting out of control in the neighbourhood.
Buses were attacked on three nights last week, with yobs pelting them with cricket balls and eggs, leaving one passenger in hospital.
Police are linking two fires started in the neighbourhood on October 12 to the same group of youths and have stepped up patrols.
Buildings have also been vandalised with graffiti and the 2nd Crawley Scout Group hut, in Seymour Road, has been damaged for the third time in as many weeks.
What is life actually like for residents of the neighbourhood, though?
Are these incidents a sign general behaviour is getting worse or is it a small minority spoiling the image of Broadfield?
Louise Weekes, who set up the charity Inspire Broadfield, which runs youth club services, is convinced the neighbourhood is full of community-minded people.
But she thinks more should be done to help young people on the wrong track.
Mrs Weekes, from Terry Road, said: "I don't think people are concerned in terms of being fearful about what has happened.
"There have been acts of childish stupidity by a bunch who clearly have nothing better to do.
"I am a great supporter of young people, though, because they are not all the same.
"Yet there is this group of mindless youths spoiling the image of Broadfield and ruining its reputation.
"Broadfield just has the most amazing community spirit. The neighbourhood is full of so many people who would go out their way to help others.
"I've lived here for almost ten years and I wouldn't move anywhere else."
Mrs Weekes is a firm believer that more opportunities need to be provided for young people to keep them out of trouble.
She added: "As the saying goes, 'the devil makes work for idle hands'.
"These youngsters want somewhere to hang out and in a way I can understand their frustration.
"When I was growing up I could get a job washing up somewhere but the options just aren't there for teenagers now.
"They have to depend on their parents for money and there is little to do for free."
Inspire Broadfield runs the Escape Project on Sundays for 8 to 18-year-olds and a youth club at Creasys Drive Adventure Playground on Mondays.
About 30 children regularly attend on a Sunday, some with their parents, and they all receive a cooked dinner and the chance to volunteer in the kitchen.
"The aim is to empower young people," Mrs Weekes said.
"We also run a mother and toddler group and ideally we make contact at this young age and bring them through the youth group.
"Much more could be done in Broadfield, though. There are only so many groups we can put on but I know the demand is there for a venue accessible over longer hours."
Susex Police were called to Broadfield Barton at about 8pm last Wednesday after the latest bus attacks.
On this occasion eggs were being thrown.
A Metrobus spokesman has warned the company could be forced to reduce services through Broadfield if attacks continue and vehicles need to stop running to be repaired.
Mrs Weekes, 53, is worried about how this could affect people living in the neighbourhood.
"A lot of people rely on the buses and it would hit the community hard if services are reduced or withdrawn," she added.
"Broadfield is almost cut off from other bus routes because you don't tend to travel through Broadfield.
"They run 24 hours a day and are vital for allowing a lot of people to get to work."
Jasvinder Lal, who runs the Premier convenience store in Broadfield Barton, is in no doubt that any negative reputation Broadfield has is undeserved.
He said: "It will all blow over. People in Crawley have a bad image in their minds about Broadfield, almost as if they are scared of the place.
"I've been based here for 12 years, though, and never had problems like this. It is not as bad as some people make out."
Barbara Atkins, from Seaford Road, agrees that there are far more positives than negatives about living in Broadfield but admits to being "distressed" by what has happened over the last couple of weeks.
The 65-year-old said: "I have lived here for four years this month and I love it here. I really do.
"Apart from the occasional horrible teenager, which you get in any town, I think it's a marvellous place to live.
"The facilities are tremendous and the council do their bit to keep it nice and tidy. I love the area and I have some wonderful neighbours.
"And the bus service is so good, which is why what happened last week is so distressing.
"I am disgusted with what happened. I can't get my head around it."
What do you think of living in Broadfield and the recent trouble there?
E-mail your views to editor@crawleynews.co.uk
