The search is on to find all surviving Bevin Boys in Tendring!

Tendring District Council Chairman Peter Balbirnie is keen to discover any of this select band of men living within the area so he can invite them to come forward and be honoured locally.

The Government has announced that a commemorative lapel badge will be awarded to the surviving 5,000 Bevin Boy veterans to mark their contribution to the war effort.

Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in the coal mines of the United Kingdom from December 1943 until the end of the Second World War.

Chosen at random from conscripts, almost 48,000 performed the vital - but largely unrecognised - service in the mines. Many were not released until years after the war.

The Bevin Boys inherited their name from Ernest Bevin, the wartime Minister of Labour and National Service. It was in 1943 that he introduced a scheme whereby ten per cent of all conscripts between 18 and 25 were picked to go into the mines because there was such a shortage of coal.

Among well-known Bevin Boys are television personality and charity worker Jimmy Saville, actor Lord Brian Rix and comedian Eric Morecambe.

Cllr Balbirnie said he was delighted that those surviving will receive a special badge to mark their achievements.

"I would also like to invite them to a small reception in the Chairman's Parlour to pay my own tribute to their tremendous efforts," he said.

"I have no idea just how many we may have living in the Tendring district but I would ask them to get in touch so that we can organise this event."

Anyone who is a Bevin Boy or knows of one living in the Tendring area is asked to contact Janice Stapleton on 01255 686006 or email jstapleton@tendringdc.gov.uk by April 25, 2008.