Page 42 - QARANC Vol 14 No 6 2013

40 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Colchester Branch
Chairman: Lt Col Stella Houghton Secretary: Mrs Valentine David
This photograph was taken at the Ramada Hotel (Colchester) on the 21st of October and this was our last function in respects to the Colchester Branch as the Branch sadly has now closed.
We had a lovely time but it was also sad knowing this would be our last get together. In August we had our summer lunch in Needham Market at the home of Brian and Jean Annis and as always we were well looked after with excellent cuisine. We shall miss our lunches there. Jean and Brian said they would miss our presence and would be happy for us to return but of course not as the Colchester Branch.
In looking through old hand written recorded minutes it shows that the Colchester Branch came into being in August 1954. Stella Houghton was appointed Chairman in 1983 and remained our Chairman throughout. In my role as the Branch Secretary I did not take this on until my youngest daughter started primary school and she is now 21 years old.
It has been a pleasure to be the
Branch Secretary and I shall miss everyone especially those who were able to attend the functions on a regular basis but I hope to keep in touch. I would also like to thank the committee members and Stella our Chairman who helped and gave support in the running of the Branch as well as Jan Edwards
(Treasurer)
With best wishes to everyone for
coming along to our functions and supporting the Branch and to those where it was difficult to attend but sent donations/letters of thanks etc. Valentine David
Millbank Branch
Well what an exciting year we have had in the UK with all the celebrations of national events. First it was the Titanic, then the Falklands, followed by the Queens Jubilee and finally the Olympics and the Paralympics. I hope that you have all enjoyed the celebrations in one way or another; I certainly did even if some of the time I was glued to the television!
Millbank too has had its share of great days out organised by your committee and we were blessed by good weather on all our trips, Kew Gardens was viewed on a really sunny day and the “voyage” on the Prince Regent down the canal was also a dry day with the sun shining. Perhaps we were all too righteous!! To put the crown on it the view from the Guys Tower on our Christmas lunch day was as superb as always with a clear sky for miles. I think that I can safely say that all these
events were thoroughly enjoyed by those members able to join us.
Sadly we have lost several of our members this year, Felicity Russell, Mary Davies, Teresa Houghton. We send our best wishes to their families and we shall miss them.
We were very happy to have Heather Duncombe the Association Secretary as our guest for lunch at Guys and it was good for members to be able to put the name to a face. We wish her luck in this exacting job on our behalf. It was also a pleasure that Col Burford Chairman of the OCA and Mrs Burford were able to join us too.
Plans for our visit to the National Arboretum in May are now well advanced and we look forward to seeing many of you on this trip.
You will by now be aware of the situation regarding the AMS Museum and if you have never been I can assure you that it is far cry from
a dusty museum and its archives and contents really do need to be housed safely. So I urge you to support the Friends of the Museum in order that our history can be safely guarded. We hope that at some point we will have a display/ presentation for you all to see.
Your committee will be thinking up further events for you to enjoy during the year and on your behalf I thank them all for their hard work and for the support they give me.
I hope that you had an enjoyable Christmas and that the New Year is a good one for you all.
Let us hope that we have better weather in 2013 and I hope to see many of you on Corps Day March 24th.
With Best Wishes, Josephine Jones Chairman
Chairman: Lt Col Josephine Jones Secretary: Mrs Allison Johnson