Founding father signed original charter

Jeremy Barker retires from douzelage

One of the founding fathers of Douzelage has called it a day on his town twinning duties, stepping down from his chairmanship of Sherborne Douzelage. Jeremy Barker, who along with his French colleagues in Granville, was one of the key instigators of the organisation back in the late 1980s and indeed was one of the signatories on the Douzelage charter when it was drawn up in 1991 to mark the start of the organisation.

Were it not for the vision of Jeremy back then, and seeing the possibilities of the twinning of not just two, but multiple towns, reflecting the growth of the then 12 member European Community and the collaboration possibilities with partners across the union, many projects would not have happened, many cultures would not have been experienced and many friendships may never have been made.

Jeremy was the second president of Douzelage, elected in 1997 and served two terms until 2003.

Jeremy (L) with current Sherborne Douzelage Chair Lin Ashby and Mike Balfour

To mark the occasion of Jeremy’s retirement, a small celebration was held in Sherborne recently which saw the gathering of many of the local Douzelage committee as well as representatives from Bundoran (Ireland) and Chojna (Poland), both of which have close ties to Jeremy and Sherborne.

Chair of Sherborne Douzelage Lin Ashby said ‘Jeremy was instrumental in the establishment of Douzelage in 1991, and was crucial to the ongoing development and strength of our activities, here in Sherborne, ever since. We couldn’t let his stepping down from our committee happen without showing our deep gratitude and appreciation for all his hard work, commitment and support to the organisation and us all in Sherborne. Thank you Jeremy!’

L-R Cezary Salamończyk (Chojna, PL), Jeremy Barker and Ada Salamończyk (Chojna, PL)

Douzelage President Shane Smyth who also attended the celebration added ‘Without Jeremy’s extraordinary foresight in the early 90s, our lives would have turned out so differently. The very concept of such a twinning arrangement was indeed groundbreaking and through cultivating special relationships Jeremy has steered the great ship Douzelage into the ideal it has become today. It is more than twinning of towns, it is the meeting of people who share common goals and visions and the building of special friendships which will last a lifetime and for that we are truly thankful.’

Jeremy will continue to attend Douzelage General Meetings for the foreseeable future in his capacity as “Honorary President” – a title bestowed upon him in 2004.

We wish him many happy years of retirement!