Child Shield Usa

New book reveals comedian's 'forgotten' Shield's childhood

AS a boy, Danny Lawrence would close his eyes and imagine he could see him walking down his street.

It wasn’t a sight he had ever seen, or would ever see, but it was vivid in the youngster’s imagination, fuelled by the tales he’d been told of a famous man called Stan Laurel who, like him, had spent his informative childhood years on North Tyneside.

“I have a lovely image of him walking from his father’s theatre at the other end of Saville Street, past the bottom of the street where I used to live,” smiles Danny. “He lived just a couple of hundred yards from where I did, and it was something I used to think about a lot as a child.”

Now, some 60 years on, he has penned a book detailing the importance of those formative years that the iconic comedy actor – probably best known as half of the duo Laurel and Hardy – spent here on Tyneside.

“The time that Stan Laurel spent in North Shields tends to be completely overlooked by historians, and even the town itself,” he reveals.

“You read things about him and it mentions he was born in Cumbria and went to school in Bishop Auckland, yet very few of them mention North Shields.

“But I firmly believe that the years he spent here were very important in moulding him into the man he eventually became. My whole motivation behind this book was to make people aware of the crucial importance of his time here.”

Danny, 70, and a retired lecturer in sociology, lives in Nottingham with his wife Helen, who was born and raised in Cullercoats. Danny grew up in Norfolk Street, North Shields, just a few hundred yards from Stan’s home in Dockwray Square.

He says: “He was here for about 10 years and precious little has ever been done to capitalise on the town’s association with such an influential man.

“Walk into North Shields and, apart from Bob Olley’s wonderful statue of him in Dockwray Square, and a plaque on the house where he lived, there is nothing to show for his time here.

“I’ve read so many biographies about him and it seems a whole chapter of his life is missing. I was even more shocked when I read in one such book that North Shields was a mill town!”

Since taking early retirement from the University of Nottingham, Danny has spent years researching his subject, and believes the evidence that Laurel’s time here was what formed his career, is quite startling.

Child Shield U.S.A Names Local Agent

Detroit, MI (PRWEB) April 17, 2009

Kimley Armour of Detroit, Michigan has recently been named as a new Independent Registered Agent for Child Shield, U.S.A, a national organization dedicated to the safety of America's children. Miss Armour shares with Child Shield, U.S.A. its goal of helping to prevent and recover lost, missing, abducted, and runaway children throughout America. According to the United States Department of Justice, these situations befall about one and one-half million children each year.

This statistic is as frightening as it is true. Unfortunately, far too many American parents have an It can't happen to my kid attitude. This very attitude may be one of the major contributors to this national crisis. According to the Vanished Children's Alliance, every 40 seconds another child is missing or abducted. We are not helping our children by pretending that these things don't happen, says Robin Raskob owner of Child Shield, U.S.A. by not telling our children of these dangers, we are also keeping them vulnerable. To empower our children, you first must educate them, she says.

The primary goal of Child Shield, U.S.A. is to reduce the alarming numbers of lost, missing, abducted, and runaway children in America. To this end, their child safety kit provides an easy to follow educational program designed to empower parents and children with important knowledge that can help to prevent tragedy. In addition, the educational part of Child Shield, U.S.A. service includes the unique Safety Seven poster and their Play it Safe coloring and activity book. These proactive materials provide ongoing reinforcement and help children to retain the important safety information they've learned. Child Shield, U.S.A. is the only organization in the country with a prevention program with over 10 years of statistics proving it works.

The second goal of Child Shield, U.S.A. is to furnish parents and law enforcement agencies with a one stop force for invaluable assistance in dissemination information about a missing child and aid in the recovery effort. Child Shield, U.S.A. is prepared to act immediately upon a child's disappearance by investigation. Upon being notified of the disappearance of a registered child, Child Shield, U.S.A. will contact the investigating police department and offer assistance by duplicating identification videotapes and posters of the missing child and distributing them to the police department's choice of any or all of the destinations included in the Child Shield, U.S.A. database. This unique database contains hundreds of law enforcement agencies, missing children's organizations, and national news media contacts. Child Shield, U.S.A. will also send videotapes and posters to any additional destinations the investigating authorities may request.

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