HOME GUARD

Today Achille Vintras' great-granddaughters Penelope Adamson and Caroline Pepler pledged their support to our campaign and vowed to do everything they could to stop it being razed to the ground.

A bronze bust of their great-grandfather takes pride of place in the entrance of the magnificent chateau-style building on the seafront in Marine Parade, Kemp Town.

And the women say it would be "tragic" to demolish such a big part of Brighton's history.

M. Vintras founded both the French Convalescent Home and the French Hospital in Shaftesbury Avenue, London.

Mrs Adamson, 65, of Roman Landing, West Wittering, said: "The idea was that French-

speaking people who had been at

the hospital and needed to convalesce could come down to Brighton.

"My great-grandfather, who was a distinguished doctor in the West End, spent his time between the hospital and the home."

The women's grandfather, Louis Vintras, then became the director of the home for 21 years from 1907 to 1928. During the First World War it was used as a hospital for injured troops.

Mrs Adamson said: "They arrived covered in blood straight from the battlefield. My father, Roland Vintras, was born in the home in 1908. He was brought up there and went to Brighton

College.

"When the soldiers arrived he went round with an exercise book and the soldiers signed it and wrote about the battles they'd been injured in."

Roland Vintras went on to become an air commodore in the RAF and worked for Churchill in the Second World War. He was later awarded the CBE.

Father

Mrs Adamson added: "I can remember being taken there as a child. I remember being in the grounds with the nurses who were all nuns.

"It was a very warm and lovely place. My father had a very happy childhood there.

"I didn't know anything about the plans to close it until someone sent me a copy of the planning application.

"It just seems it's quite wrong to pull down such an historic building. When my husband and I have visited, it's always seemed such a delightfully happy place."

Mrs Adamson's sister, Caroline Pepler, 53, of North Chailey, agrees.

She said: "I think it's terribly sad and my father would feel very vehemently about this.

"As a boy he had the room behind the clock and I remember him telling us that he used to be able to hear the whirrings of its mechanism.

"Even if there was no family connection, I would

still think it terrible to pull the home down. There's so much new building in Brighton and to replace this beautiful, old building with even more would be tragic.

"A care home near me recently closed down and the suffering it caused for the residents was awful."

The women have a third

sister, Teresa Bastard, 55, who lives in Spain. She also supports our campaign.

The demolition would leave 40 staff redundant and a similar number of frail residents looking for a new home.

Home manager Catherine Gennaro says the response has been overwhelming since we started our campaign.

Telephone calls have been flooding in, people have been calling by especially to sign the petition and the post has been full with letters of support.

Mrs Gennaro said: "We've had people just walking in off the street to sign the petition.

"One lady has even offered to take it around Brighton for us.

"People have been reading about it in the Argus and getting in touch to show their support."

Our support has already won the backing of celebrities including Chris Eubank, Dame Vera Lynne and Simon Fanshawe.

There are concerns that closing the home could have a devastating impact on the residents.

Hundreds of our petitions have been distributed throughout Brighton ready for you to sign.

Just call in to any newsagent in Kemp Town or Whitehawk to register your opposition.

The petitions are also available at all our Argus offices or you

can order copies by telephoning 01273 544712.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.