THE TOWN COUNCIL has decided to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee next year by planting commemorative trees around the town. 

This is a traditional method of marking special occasions, one of the earliest being the planting of a giant sequoia or Wellingtonia in the churchyard to mark the death of the Duke of Wellington in 1852. He was a distinguished soldier and famous public figure during the early 19th century when he also became Prime Minister and his earlier victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 prompted widespread rejoicing throughout the land.  

The giant sequoia had only recently been introduced into Britain but began appearing at many locations around the country. The planting in Bourne would therefore have been a popular event and the tree has since reached massive proportions as a reminder of the occasion. 

Only one other British sovereign has had a diamond jubilee and that was Queen Victoria whose long reign was observed in Bourne in 1897 with a parade and public tea party and the installation of new choir stalls and memorial windows in the south aisle of the Abbey Church but no trees were planted that we know of. But there are others around the town intended to mark momentous events, both national and local, although they are difficult to identify because records have not been maintained over the years. 

The public recreation ground in Recreation Road was established in June 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V and this open space is surrounded by trees placed there to mark the occasion although those along the western boundary died soon afterwards and were replanted by Bourne Urban District Council. 

The trees and shrubs around the Abbey Lawn celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V in May 1935 and there was also a move to plant new trees around the town to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953 when a fund was opened to pay for them and residents were invited "to subscribe to this worthy endeavour to improve the approaches to the town" but the idea did not come to fruition. 

Three other trees with a pedigree do still exist, one at the entrance to the Abbey Lawn where a flowering cherry was planted in 1965 by Councillor John Grummitt, chairman of Bourne Urban District Council, when Bourne was judged to be the best kept small town in the Kesteven area of Lincolnshire. A lime tree was also placed alongside the river in the War Memorial Gardens when Bourne won for a second time in 1978 and town and district councillor John Smith, who was then Mayor of Bourne, wielded the spade for the ceremony in March the following year. At the same time, a mulberry tree was planted nearby by Councillor Lloyd Ramsden, chairman of South Kesteven District Council, and financed by the local committee that had organised Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee celebrations the previous year.  

Another tree, this time an oak, was planted on the western edge of the Wellhead Gardens by Bourne United Charities to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 but unfortunately this was vandalised by children and did not survive. 

The biggest commemorative tree project of recent times was Diana's Glade just off the main footpath through Bourne Wood where twenty small oak trees were planted in January 1999 by the Friends of Bourne Wood organisation as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, who died tragically in a car accident in 1997. This attractive spot remains a favourite with many of the 150,000 thousand people who visit the woods each year. 

Another major planting scheme was planned in 1999 to celebrate the millennium but was eventually abandoned because of legal difficulties. The Woodland Trust sought local support to purchase 25 acres of land at Milking Nook Drove off the Spalding Road to the east of Bourne for a wood of 10,000 trees, one for each member of the population as it was then. The cost was estimated at £100,000 and although money had already been promised through donations and grants from local authorities there were problems over the purchase of the land and of establishing a right of way with the result that in June that year, the project was finally scrapped. 

There has been another important tree project in recent years when a number of rowans were planted between 2003-07 along the grass verges in North Road to establish an Avenue of Trees and although this was an environmental project by the Rotary Club of Bourne, it was later dedicated to one of the members, John Roy Bentley, who thought of the idea but died in January 2006, aged 76, before the work was completed and a commemorative plaque was erected nearby. 

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee will be celebrated on Monday 6th February 2012 and more trees than ever before will be appearing to mark this event. The Woodland Trust has launched a major project to plant a total of six million of different varieties in woods, copses and even in back yards, the largest undertaking of its kind ever attempted and one that will transform our landscape for many years to come.  

Free jubilee tree packs are being offered to schools and community groups as a lasting legacy for the environment. A similar but much smaller project was launched in 1937 to mark the coronation of King George VI but it is not known whether any tree planting took place in Bourne. 

The town council has also decided to plant a number of trees at various locations around the town and a working party has been appointed to decide exactly where they will go. Apart from the town cemetery and the South Fen allotments, the council does not own any land itself and so landowners and businesses will be approached to accept one on their property. Perhaps a photographic album of them might be compiled and left in a safe place to ensure that the details are passed on in order that future generations will know exactly where they are.