The Lord of the Manor of Stanbury - American businessman Tom Lee - arrived in the village on a 'working' vacation for the first time at the weekend. And the larger-than-life sapphire

entrepreneur made a big impression on local people. We followed him around

Stanbury's Lord of the Manor is a precious jewel in many villagers' eyes.

He is Tom Lee, a wealthy American miner who runs the biggest sapphire and emerald mining company in North America - Celtic Resources.

This charismatic Lord from East Grand Rapids, Michigan, has promised to try to save both Stanbury and Oldfield first schools from the hands of Bradford education bosses through his Court Baron which is due to convene in November, as we report on page 1.

According to Mr Lee, this court, which last stood in Stanbury 200 years ago, has the power to overturn any council decision on the future of the schools.

Under the proposals, Stanbury First School is to become an enlarged primary school and Oldfield is to close. But Mr Lee has vowed to do all he can to stop these changes being put into action. He intends to act on residents' wishes which call for the retention of the status quo.

The Lord of the Manor has been busy on his first visit to the village - made this week.

He has already appointed Rasjid Skinner, chairman of the Worth Valley Conservative Association, as the steward of the court when it is convened. Mr Skinner is helping Mr Lee to research the powers of medieval law and has said this will be a 'wonderful opportunity' for residents to get together to discuss local issues.

Mr Lee says: "I believe this is still the purest form of democracy. For those who think I am not serious, look out!"

He is now being hailed as a trans-Atlantic hero and claims to have deep and affectionate bonds with England.

Looking back on his first visit to Stanbury, he notes: "For the last few days I have covered every inch of the local area and the history and landscape here are quite spectacular.

"Everyone is so welcoming and friendly, and after spending time with people in London I feel that people there haven't got a clue about their own country. This is the real England."

During his visit Mr Lee was very busy. He visited both Stanbury and Oldfield schools, meeting the head-teachers and sitting in on lessons, talking to the children and teachers. The youngsters in the tiny schools found their American visitor something of a novelty, and were delighted to meet the man they had written to and learned about.

Mr Lee chatted to some of the villagers who came up to say hello, and visited the Quaker burial ground. He also called in to the Keighley News office to meet staff here.

While he was here he also met Katie Whitaker, Keighley's power lifter picked for the British Special Olympic squad to go to the Games in the USA next year and whom Mr Lee has helped fund.

He stayed at the White Lion hotel at Haworth.

Mr Lee has a long family association with England. His wife Jean was born in Devon and his three children - Robbie, 11, Jordan, 15, and Victoria, 16 - all have British passports. When we asked about his wife's occupation, Mr Lee replied: "She's a kid wrangler."

He says: "My family originates from the Lee Valley in North Devon and has dual nat-ionality, so I wanted to do something for the ancestral homeland. My wife only spent two days in Britain, including the day she was born, before her family moved to the States."

Mr Lee's ancestors were among the first to settle in the New World, sailing from Eng-land in the 1620s. They were prominent figures in the early days of the United States. One of his descendants was a governor of Virginia, and others signed the Declaration of Independence as the British were thrown out.

But Mr Lee retains fond views of Britain, as well as his roots in Michigan. "Although my hometown is bigger than Stanbury it retains the same sense of community, which is important," he says. "I travel all over the world but the people in Grand Rapids, like the people in Stanbury, retain that sense of community."

Mr Lee says when he returns to Stanbury in April his wife and three children will be by his side.

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