Page 149 - Mind, Body and Spirit 2016/17

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The Regt Sec and Corps Paving Stone in Hero’s Square
Hero’s Square at the NMA. Hero’s Square was of cially opened at the NMA on 18 Oct 16. The square is laid with a number of paving stones embossed with various capbadges including the RAPTC.
Welfare. Welfare continues to be at the forefront of Association business and this year has been no different. The majority of requests for support come through SSAFA but we are, on occasions, able to intervene directly. The Regt Sec works closely with other charities to ensure those RAPTC Association members who require assistance are helped as soon as possible. The RAPTC Welfare committee often convene to assess requests for assistance and in almost all cases we provide nancial support for those seeking it, however there are a few applications that do not qualify for support (they did not serve in the Corps for example). The Terms of Reference for welfare support can be found on the RAPTC Association website and I would urge anyone who knows of someone in need to contact the Regt Sec.
RAPTC History Book. An initiative by the Executive Committee to commission a history book of the Corps covering the period 1860 to 2015 is well under way. The Executive Committee identi ed the funding and commissioned Osprey Publishers to produce the book; they in turn, suggested we use a professional military author and a short list was drawn up. Nikolai Bogdanovic was invited to present his ideas for the book to the Trustees who subsequently con rmed his appointment as the of cial author of the Corps history book. A tight set of timelines have been agreed between the publishers, Nikolai and the Association, consequently, Nikolai has spent many hours researching the Corps including the background context and how we have been part of the Army fabric for over 150 years. He has worked very closely with the publishers, RAPTC Project Of cer – Maj (MAA) S Collinson RAPTC, the Regt Sec - Lt Col (Retd) G B Jones, the Museum Curator - Mr Adam Culling, Brig John Donnelly and others. The Trustees have been informed and kept up to date at all stages of the publishing process and where required, have made important decisions along the way. As this edition of the MBS arrives on your doorstep we are on track to distribute the completed book in time for Christmas 2017. Details of how the book will be distributed, costs etc. will be promulgated at a later date.
Biennial Reunion. A very successful RAPTC Biennial Reunion was held in the Aldershot area over the weekend of 16 – 18 Sep 2016 (a spread of photographs from the weekend can be found elsewhere in the MBS). The reunion was spread over three days with the golf taking place on Friday, an informal gathering Friday evening, sports day on Saturday followed by the formal dinner
From L to R, Regt Sec, Derek Twitchin, Mrs D Winter and Mrs J Fairclough
in the Of cers’ mess and then on Sunday, a church service and lunch in the WOs & Sgts Mess. During the weekend over 300 attended and a number of members commented that it was, in their opinion, “the best event for a number of years and getting back to the good old days”.
However, that word ‘change’ pops up again and a change in the rules governing functions held in military buildings has resulted in a considerable hike in the cost of holding functions in military Messes. As such, a RAPTC project team has been set up to review the format and cost of the biennial reunion; they will report their ndings to the Trustees at their next meeting in Sep 17.
The Royal Hospital Chelsea - Founder’s Day. The RAPTC Association are invited to the Royal Hospital Chelsea Founders Day by virtue of Ex SSgt (SSI) Derek Twitchin staying at the hospital as In-Pensioner. Founder’s day took place on 9 June 2016 in glorious sunshine. This is an opportunity for the In-Pensioners to show off their parade skills to the invited guests and Reviewing Of cer who this year was Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal. The Regt Sec was accompanied by Adam Culling the RAPTC