Page 57 - QARANC Vol 14 No 9 2014

Chairman: Tina Maddams Secretary: Celia Blundell
Our first social gathering of the year was a luncheon to celebrate Corps Day. This took place in the very pleasant establishment called The Puffing Billy, situated in a village near Exmouth in Devon. Fifteen members attended the event - a great pleasure to meet up with branch members from the Devon area.
The annual Spring Bring and Buy followed by luncheon was held on 21st May at The Beambridge Hotel, near Wellington in Somerset. Fourteen members attended with our guest being Major Gary Martin, the Regular Nursing Officer with 243 Field Nursing Hospital based in Bristol. We look forward to an ongoing relationship with this unit, which began in 2012.
We are sad to report the death of Olivia Carter on 27th March. Olivia had been in the past a loyal member of the branch, but due to mobility problems,
had not been able to attend functions for a very long time. An apt description of her would be ‘one of life’s great characters’. She was well versed in 21st century technology, computer literate, email and Facebook, all no problem for Olivia in her advancing years!
Also, sadly, the death took place on 2nd June of Major (retd)
Brenda Smith ARRC.
Brenda had also been
a very active and loyal supportive member, attending functions on a regular basis, the last on 22nd March. We
will miss her. Our branch chairman and secretary plus six other members attended her funeral.
On a lighter note, Jill McNair, a member of our branch received an invitation to attend this year’s The Not Forgotten Association annual Garden Party, held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Jill will be writing
THE GAZETTE QARANC 55
Newcastle Branch News
Chairman: Major (Retd) Anne Dolphin Secretary: Captain (Retd) Lyndsey Staerck
Our AGM in March this year warmly welcomed our new Chairman Major (Retd) Anne Dolphin – a RHQ member. Our departing Chairman Col (Retd) Ann Clouston was praised for her work and dedication over the last few years.
In May our meeting was followed by a very interesting talk by Alistair Fraser on the Great War. He covered the factors that led to the conflict and many of the issues around the style of warfare, leadership and casualty numbers 1914 – 1918 compared to World War 2. Quite fascinating. This talk will be followed up in our September meeting when our
speaker Malcolm Byrne will discuss World War 2 and the European Theatre of Operations.
Our first summer outing was lunch on the riverside at Durham followed by the scenic, historic river cruise. It was well attended and the North East weather was kind us with the sun shining brightly all day – sometimes a bit too bright!
We are all looking forward to our August outing to the beautiful Northumberland coastal village Bugle Bay. We are hoping that the weather will be as sunny as it was in June. Our kind hosts have their caravan and calor gas heaters ready as back up if the rain pours.
Lyndsey Staerck Captain – Retd
West Country Branch
her account for The Gazette this most enjoyable experience.
We look forward to our AGM. Luncheon on 22nd October being held at The Beambridge Hotel. We will learn more of the events planned for
2015. How time flies!
Celia Blundell
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