Page 78 - MERCIAN Eagle 2020

Chairman: Peter Gresty
The Annual General Meeting season started the year with most branches holding theirs in January. Birkenhead Branch reported that theirs was poorly attended, but it meant that “the bitter rivalry for the Branch Officers’ posts was avoided” and of course as in most of our branches, the committee was re-elected unopposed. Chester Branch, faced with the possibility of not having a home for the first time in 60 years, negotiated with the powers-that- be to have use of a room in the RHQ building for their meetings once a week.
The Association AGM was held on the Saturday closest to Meeanee Day, the routine business was conducted and then a full calendar of Association events for 2020 was set out and discussed. That same evening, a successful Meeanee Dinner Dance, organised once again by Joe Murphy, took place in The Mill Hotel in Chester. Some Branches held Meeanee functions, including Southern Region, who held theirs in the palatial surroundings of the Union Jack Club, and it seemed to be that last time we would meet face to face for a very long time.
Until March, most of us thought that “Zoom” was the noise that racing cars and aeroplanes made when they passed by, but together
with “Facetime” and “WhatsApp”, it became
the medium through which even the most technophobe members kept in touch with each other whilst in the various forms of lockdown through the rest of the year. Happily, we can report that most Branches were able to maintain contact with their members and kept an eye on the most elderly and vulnerable ones.
Many CRA members are keen bikers and formed a group called “The 22nd Riders” a few years ago. Through the early part of this year,
they raised funds to place name plaques beside the trees planted to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Droppin’ Well bombing in 1982 and raised a total of £6000 which was handed over on 5th July. A number of them visited the Arboretum on 6th December, the 38th Anniversary, along with relatives of the victims, to see the plaques in place.
The relaxing of lockdown restrictions in summer meant that some events could go ahead, albeit
in a very low-key way. A VJ Day commemoration in Port Sunlight was attended by members of Birkenhead Branch, and a small ceremony for Mons Day was held in the Cheshire Regiment Garden of Remembrance at Chester Cathedral. Derek Sykes carried the Association Standard, Paul Wilkinson sounded Last Post and a wreath was laid by Major Mike Huntriss.
Stockport Branch were hopeful that a socially distanced East Cheshire Reunion, the 73rd, could go ahead and made elaborate arrangements to ensure the safety of everyone who could attend, so it was a great disappointment when, as Greater
Manchester went into Tier 3 restrictions, it had to be cancelled. This gathering, started by the 7th Battalion’s WW2 veterans in Macclesfield on the last Saturday of October every year since 1947 is believed to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, servicemen’s reunions in the country.
A small contingent of Southern Region members went to wish Les Stelfox a very happy 107th birthday in May, and in August serving members of the Mercian Regiment joined Sandbach Branch to wish Charles Sullivan, a WW2 veteran of the 2nd Battalion, a happy 100th birthday.
Sadly, Charles died just a week later, CRA members gathered outside the Crematorium to pay their respects and Last Post was sounded by Cpl Wendy Robert from the Band of The Mercian Regiment.
This year has been one of great sadness as
we lost a number of members. Perhaps the best known of these was retired CSM Terry Finlay BEM who served in both the 1st Battalion, and later the 3rd Battalion. His funeral cortege was led from his home to Chester Crematorium by a cavalcade of motorcycles of the 22nd Riders and nearly 100 CRA members lined the route inside the cemetery.
Since they first brought their proposal to the CRA AGM in 2019, Cheshire Regiment veterans and good friends Ashley Farrall and Stuart Harrison have been raising money for a Cheshire Regiment Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. Their original target was £20,000
and the campaign started with a Facebook and Gofundme page but made slow progress, but in September, they featured in a series of interviews with BBC North West TV News, several local Radio stations and newspapers reported about their fund raising 22-mile (35.5Km) weighted march carrying 22KGs (48.5lbs) and members
of the public have been very generous with donations, often in memory of a much-loved relative who served in the Regiment in days gone by, and they have made great strides towards reaching their target. It is planned to put the final application to the NMA Planning Board in March. If approved, it is hoped that, COVID permitting, it will be ready for unveiling in the Summer of 2021.
Mons Day, 2020
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