Page 128 - Mercian Eagle 2014

SOUTHERN REGION
Once again the Branch represented
the 22nd at the opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey and again on Remembrance Sunday at The Cenotaph, with our annual visit to the Tower of London sandwiched in on the Saturday evening.
The Southern Region’s quiet tranquility has been broken only twice. The first occasion was the annual pilgrimage to Twickenham in order to watch the rugby match between the Army and Royal Navy. Over 80,000 watched the Army come from behind to win 30 – 17. Another excellent
day, with rumours that some bars ran out of beer very early on.
The second occasion was the trek north for Chester Races. What a great day and the 1st Battalion are to be thanked and congratulated on running an excellent bar and enclosure.
Our Spring branch meeting was held
in the Tower of London our thanks go to Dickie Dover for arranging the venue. The annual Inter Services T20 cricket took place at Lords on 3rd June and thanks to our President, Brigadier Tony Twiss, we had
the best seats in the ground and enjoyed a
great day’s cricket, along with an excellent picnic. An Army win topped a great day.
We were very sad to learn of the death
of Mrs Marjorie Dauncey, wife of Brigadier Mike Dauncey DSO. Marjorie and Mike were married since September 1945, a total of 68 years of devotion to each other. Our deepest condolences go to Brigadier Mike and his family. Marjorie’s funeral was very well attended, with many members of the Southern Region attending.
George Szwejkowski
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the races it was back up to the club, which was full to capacity. The staff did a great job looking after us all. We all had several for the road and then it was back home to Kirkham.
The next outing was a trip to Walsall for the Malaya Reunion. We had booked into the Barons Court Hotel where I met up with my MT comrades, Paul Hadfield, Eric Thompson, Roy Turner, Bill Bastin, John Eddowes and Vick Parker. It was great
to see them all looking so well. We had the photo albums out and the lamp was
swinging all over the hotel. In the evening we got a taxi to the Pelsall Labour Club
for the reunion. We met up with two more
of our comrades, Bryn Jones and Len Hurcombe, with their wives Sheila and Yvonne. Once again the Walsall Branch members made us most welcome. The
fish and chips were great and we enjoyed the entertainment as well. To top it all, Bryn Jones won first prize in the raffle, and I won the second prize. All in all it was a very good reunion.
Some of us travelled to Belgium to take part in the ceremonies to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of The Battle of Mons.
A moving experience with ceremonies in
the Cemetery at Audregnies followed by
a march to the Battlefield where a new memorial was inaugurated. This was followed 2 weeks later by the Mons Day Reunion in Chester where we joined with
2 MERCIAN and about 1000 others to mark the Centenary once again.
John Gibson
NANTWICH AND DISTRICT
The branch is in good spirits and our monthly meetings are well attended. Some of our members have been dogged with illness and we try and keep contact with them, sending cards and visiting them and it is always a pleasure to welcome them back into the fold when they have recovered.
Some of us attended the Royal British Legion collection of Armed Services memorabilia on display at Crewe indoor market in the Spring. Many of the artefacts on display came from the late Billy Smart (see photo).
Chester Races on 9th May was a great success and special thanks must go to
the men of 1 MERCIAN who laid on such
a splendid hospitality tent on the Roodee, they did us proud. As usual we sent a good delegation to the Malaya and Singapore Reunion in Pelsall on 14th June and as usual, we all had a great night.
A couple of members, went on the Pilgrimage to mark to 100th Anniversary
of the Battle of Mons and reported that they enjoyed a great experience with ceremonies in the village of Audregnies and on the battlefield and a hog roast with lots
Members of Nantwich Branch
of specially brewed local beer afterwards, all generously provided by the local townspeople.
Along with the other branches of the CRA, we attended the annual Mons Reunion in Chester and proudly marched to
the Cathedral for a service to commemorate the 100th anniversary. The parade following the service was huge with over 1000 soldiers, cadets and a re-enactment from Port Sunlight march back to the Castle.
Ray Stafford
SOUTH WIRRAL BRANCH
Members of the branch recognised that running or attending outdoor events such as Chester Races, fundraisers and Branch functions was often uncomfortable because of bad weather conditions. We therefore embarked on mission to solve this problem by starting Operation Cover-Up.
The mission was to raise sufficient funds, with the objective to purchase a marquee type tent facility with tables and chairs costing over £2,000.00. To achieve this; we approached local businesses, charities and council members for donations,
and the outcome was; that we achieved
outstanding results, whereby we raised
the total amount within the first 6 months
of the operation. Although too late for
this year’s race meeting, we have now purchased a 72 sq m marquee complete with lighting, with 40 chairs and sufficient tables to accommodate forthcoming events.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE