Orange parade passes without trouble (From Gazette & Herald)

Orange parade passes without trouble

TRAFFIC CAME to a standstill in Malton and Norton last Saturday morning when the towns saw their first-ever Orange March.

But worries by the organisers of trouble after threats from those opposed to the march were allayed as a result of a significant police presence.

The march attracted less than the anticipated 150 Orangemen after threats of violence, said organiser Malcolm Halder, of the Scarborough-based Lord Louis Mountbatten Lodge.

"There had even been death threats made," he said.

A large flute band from Motherwell joined the marchers who came from all parts of the north-east and Scotland to march in honour of the lodge's worthy master, Andy Nelson, a worker at Malton Bacon Factory who lives in Jubilee Road, Norton.

The march, headed by police outriders and accompanied by patrol cars, made its way through the busy streets, filled with weekend shoppers who watched bemused as the blue-uniformed band and Orange Order banners were carried through the streets.

Traffic in Wheelgate was diverted as the parade made its way up Castlegate, then cars in Wheelgate had to wait until the parade, moving to the north of the town, passed by on the other side of the road.

Organiser Malcolm Halder said: "In the end, we didn't have much opposition. Some people spat at us but by and large it was a peaceful march. There were more police on duty than we have when we hold the marches in Scarborough."

The 23-year-old lodge was formed after the murder of Mountbatten in Northern Ireland in 1979.

Mr Nelson said: "I think people are nave about what we stand for. Someone said to me: 'I don't want the IRA marching through my town.' That shows how little people know. We couldn't really be any further removed from the IRA."

Among those leading the parade was Norman Fraser, the district chaplain for the order's Tyneside district, who read passages from the Bible, on which was carried a crown at the head of the parade.

Insp Neil Burnett, of Malton police, said it had been incident free and he was pleased with the way it had been run. He did not believe the traffic problems were any worse than normal on a Saturday in the towns.

The marchers headed for Wentworth Street car park when Mr Nelson said they feared from earlier reports that there could have been trouble.

Onlookers Paula Simpson and Sara Bogg supported the marchers.

"They aren't doing anyone any harm, it is each to their own for me," said Paula.

Sara said: "I think it is good for the town if that is what they want to do."

As the march reached Wheelgate, it encountered its first vocal opposition.

Angry Malton resident Graham Goforth shouted "get out of town".

He said later: "My mother is a Catholic and lived in Belfast when discrimination against Catholics was at its worst.

"They have no place in Malton and shouldn't be here. The police shouldn't have stopped traffic for them, they should have had to walk in the gutters."

At one point, a woman was waving an Irish tricolor and shouting at the marchers, while another protester urged them to return home because they were not wanted in the twin North Yorkshire market towns, he claimed.

Nearby resident Joanna Rookes had put on her Celtic shirt, which prompted a few snarls and V-signs from the marchers.

Celtic is the club traditionally supported by Irish nationalists, while loyalists follow its deadly rivals Rangers.

"They shouldn't be here and I just wanted to wind them up a bit," Joanna said.

The marchers were later taken by two coaches to Scarborough for another parade and on Saturday night gathered at the resort's Corner Cafe for a ceilidh.

Updated: 13:40 Wednesday, April 02, 2003