Page 119 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2017

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 117 Canterbury South East Branch (Omdurman Troop)
2017 activity for the troop was taken at a gentle pace, more suited to our average age and mobility! However, we still managed to maintain troop representation at association dinners in Blackpool and Nottingham, as well as the Cavalry Memorial Parade, the annual Royal Lancer wreath laying ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral and, the cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps church parade and service at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the dedi- cation of Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey and the Lancers in London Christmas lunch at the Civil Service Club. A big thank you to troop members who were able to take part.
ly engaged couple Clive Bergstand and Judith Barritt, Paddy King, Pete and Christine Ashton, Ken and Bren- da Parsfield, Ron and Judith Fullilove together with Tony and Edward Wort. Altogether they make up a good cross section of members from our anteced- ent regiments.
Our president, Colonel William, with his RLOCA hat on briefed the gath- ering as to the establishment and structure, together with aims and ob- jectives, of the newly formed RLOCA committee. An unusual aspect of this year’s dinner was that each place set- ting received a bottle of Death or Glory Ale which had been very kindly donated by Mr Richard Shardlow of Tring Brewery, a gift which also gave us additional raffle prizes. It was a splendid and much appreciated ges-
It is sad to report the passing of two
stalwart troop members, Mr Don
Challen ex-16/5L and Mr John Hart-
field-Powell ex-9L Both had contributed to the vibrancy of the troop and will be sorely missed. Our president, Colonel William English CBE and myself as chairman were able to attend both funerals and express our condolences to both families. Their re- spective obituaries are to be found elsewhere in this issue of the Chapka. We must also note that 2017 has not been a good year for some of our band of brothers who have suffered ill health. Our thoughts for hopefully a full and speedy recovery go in par- ticular to; Mr Roy Couzens, Mrs Judith Fullilove and Mr Tony Wort.
Our own branch function was again held in the Grange Moor Hotel in Maidstone and proved to be a successfully convivial evening. Unfortunately, the Regiment was largely engaged on exercises on Salisbury Plain (not a pleasant spot in November as I recall) so the Adjutant struggled to arrange representing from the Regiment. However, he did achieve it and we were pleased to welcome from the rear party in Catterick, Squadron Sergeant Major Jon Hobson (B Squadron) together with Sergeant Kirt Davis and Sergeant Tom Underwood from the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians). We were most grateful for their input and insight into current regimental activities, organisation and future ‘doings’. We were also pleased to welcome back Major Phil Watson from Home Headquarters, Malc and Betty Scoth- ern, one of our past chairmen, Barry and Carole Baxter, our new-
A bottle each courtesy of Tring Brewery and Mr. Kerr Hill
ture of good will towards all who wore the motto.
In respect of attendance and input into the dinner, special notes of thanks must be given to; Tony and Dolores Cunningham who came over from Dublin to be with us, not to mention Dolores’s formidable raffle ticket selling abilities - if you’re in her sights, donation is not an option; John and Sylvia Nicholas and their posse of Royal Engineer EOD, RCT and RAF personnel togeth- er with Lord Denis Tunnicliffe and Susan his wife; Kerr Hill for transporting and delivering the ubiquitous crates of Death or Glory ale; Dougie and Valerie Baker who every run a suc- cessful money tree boosting troop funds (and helping pay the bills!); and, Eileen Boorman, Sylvia Nichols who able assisted dead eyed Dolores in selling raffle tickets which again enable us to offset some of the dinner costs. New members attending included Malc and Betty Scothern, Bruce and Vanessa Briscoe, Graham Kerridge, Gary Bagnall, John Gauthier and Harry Rack. It was a pleasure to meet you all and we look forward to meeting up with you again in the future.
Our dinner for 2018 is scheduled for Saturday 17th November and we look forward to meeting each and every one of you once more. If you were, or are a Lancer, please come and join us, you can be sure of a warm welcome from the Canterbury Troop.
DB
Three Lancers on parade plus a Regimental Charitable Trust mole
Uncle Barry Baxter with his niece Vanessa Briscoe