Page 26 - QARANC Spring 2024

26 The Gazette QARANC Association
WELSH BRANCH
Our busy year forging friendships and making memories
Valmai Davies regales readers with some of the Welsh Branch’s highlights from 2023, including a return to the castle, Welsh rarebit and the sounds of laughter on a memorable walk in the wet.
Following Mo Humphrey’s death in February 2023, her husband Laurie was keen to uphold the annual tradition of an event at Usk Castle. So it was that we gathered again in September at the castle for afternoon tea, organised by the Branch Committee. The marquee was decorated with Association bunting.
Laurie had put together a poignant display of photos of Mo, serving as a focal point of the room, accompanied by the displayed Standard. To commemorate this special occasion the women donned elegant hats while the men bow ties.
The tea was delightful, fostering a lively atmosphere filled with conversation and revisiting of cherished memories. The event became even more memorable when members of Mo’s family joined us for tea.
The afternoon was incredibly special, marked by heartfelt reminiscing regarding the much-loved members we have recently lost who would typically have attended the event. Despite the typical Welsh weather outside the marquee, everyone enjoyed a pleasant afternoon.
Then, in late October, the Association and Branch was represented at a special memorial service for the
Despite the typicalWelsh weather outside the marquee, everyone enjoyed a pleasant afternoon
eight Muslim soldiers of the British Indian Army Force K, buried in Commonwealth War Graves Brecon cemetery.
To tell you a little of their history, in 1939, as the British Army transitioned into a fully mechanised force, the need for animal transport became apparent. The Royal Indian Army Service Corps (RIASC) emerged as the best military animal transport solution from which Force K6 was created. Following withdrawal from Dunkirk the RIASC Companies found themselves dispersed across the Brecon Beacons. They later moved to Scotland in 1942 before returning to the Brecon area at the end of the war, where tragically these soldiers succumbed to illness.
The memorial service was organised by the Welsh Guards Pilgrims and the Royal British Legion was attended by three members of the Welsh Branch. The ceremony commenced with a private religious service at the graveside led by the Muslim Council for Wales. A parade of Standards, veterans, people of Brecon soon followed.
I had the honour and privilege of laying a wreath, marking a poignant moment in a service that paid homage to the bravery of these soldiers buried so far