Page 129 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

Nottingham City Branch by Lol Barber
Members who attended the Bellenglise memorial
Day commemorations, Armed Forces
Day, the Battle of Britain Day Service and Remembrance Day parades. We have also
We have had a change in our Committee in 2011, Eric Searcy has resigned as Branch President and also Colin Hunt resigned as Branch Chairman. Both have served the Branch in various posts over the years and the members of the Nottingham City Branch would like to express their grateful thanks for the service given by both Eric and Colin.
On 11 March, Branch members, along with members from other Notts and Derby Branches, the Lincoln Regiment and RHQ boarded a bus to visit St Quentin for a Battlefield tour and rededication of the
46th Division memorial at Bellenglise. The re-dedication was organised by members of the Staffordshire Association who kindly invited the WFRA to attend as the 2/8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters were involved in the Breaking of the Hindenburg Line alongside the Staffordshire Regiment. Maj John Cotterill, ably supported by Lt Col Mark Holden outlined the battle and the crossing of the St Quentin Canal with a very informative Battlefield Tour on the Saturday and on the following day, Col (Retd) Sneath laid a wreath on behalf of the Sherwood Foresters at the re-dedication of the 46th Division Memorial.
Members of the Branch (with the Nottingham Army Cadet Force) attended the Battlefield tour of the Western Front to commemorate the Battle of the Somme. This included the Lochnagar Crater Service at 07.30am on the 1st July 2011. Branch members then moved to the town of Fonquevilliers for a parade and Service of Remembrance, laying wreaths in memory of the 7th Robins Hoods Battalion and the 5th and 8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters in the town’s military cemetery. After the service the villagers laid on a buffet with wine for
all to enjoy. In the evening, following the Service we made our way to Ypres for the
8pm Service under the Menin Gate; here two wreaths were laid in memory of the men of the Sherwood Foresters Regiment and Robin Hoods who made
the ultimate sacrifice.
The Corps of Drums
of the Nottinghamshire
ACF (Ruddington
Detachment) took part
in this parade and after
this service performed
a short concert for the
spectators.
Branch members
have taken active parts in a number of other events in the Nottingham area including
the Albert Ball Memorial Service, Badajoz
been on trips to Whitby and York and celebrated the festive season with a Christmas Party.
2012 forthcoming Branch events include a tour of the Somme area with the ACF, a number of Branch day trips and also an Armed Forces Day Party.
New members are welcomed and anyone wishing to join should contact Lol Barber through RHQ Foresters House.
Nottingham City Branch would like to express their grateful thanks for the service given by both Eric and Colin
Standard bearers
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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