Page 145 - Mercian Eagle 2014

because of The Worcestershire Regiment’s connections with the Far East. Readers will recall that, in WWII, 7th Battalion fought at Kohima and 2nd Battalion were in Burma; 1st Battalion was in Malaya between 1950 and 1953. A commemorative oak tree is planted in that section of the Arboretum close to Friday’s event.
Our Standard Bearer, Mike, and Ken Bradley (Standard Bearer of the RBL Kidderminster Branch) and Ron Bubb,
Derek Hill and his daughter, Yvette, and Donnie Donegan and I represented the Kidderminster Service Associations and took part in a most dignified and respectful service. There was a good turnout
of some 80 persons. Memories were recalled, poems recited and tributes paid, all linked by a master of ceremonies who was not a Minister of Religion but their Research Officer. We shall all have to revisit the NMA
shortly to see the other Memorials as time ran out all too soon!
However, we had a very nice buffet afterwards in TRBL’s Alrewas Club and
the weather was kind. The following day, some of us attended The Burma Star Association’s annual VJ Commemoration on Crown Green, Bromsgrove, where Derek Hill laid a wreath on the WORC R plinth; Mike carried our Association Standard and Ron Bubb sounded Last Post and Reveille.
Long Eaton Branch
by Cliff Housley
Another year, another day and things keep moving forward which
is as it should be with any organisation. The Long Eaton Branch have had a fairly successful year with our usual branch dinner being held on Saturday 22nd February, once again at Brennans where
the hostess looks after us very well indeed. Some 30 members sat down for dinner with their wives with the room being decorated
with the Branch and Area Standards and with a large model of Pte Derby and the Crich Tower also in evidence; a very pleasant evening ensued.
A number of old Foresters and WFR men have come out of the woodwork to give us the pleasure of their company at the monthly meetings and we are hopeful as word once again begins to spread that more will surface.
The Branch supported the Le Cateau Lottery run by the Mercian Regimental Museum (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters collections) at Nottingham and we were most fortunate in that
the branch has had three wins. As the time for the Annual WFR Crich Dinner approached it was decided that we would subsidise the tickets for the dinner for each of our members and their wives wishing to go and it is pleasing to report that we had thirteen
members attending the dinner (13 out of 16 members is I believe a pretty good percentage showing!). I only wish other Branches would try to make the effort to support what is in fact a WFRA function (see separate report on the Crich Dinner by Maj John Cotterill). We are now looking forward to the Crich Dinner next year and already some good ideas have come to the fore as to how we can painlessly, over the year, fund yet another subsidy in 2015. Obviously, a fund raiser helps and we would recommend that all Branches try this with the intention of reducing the cost of their members’ tickets. We accept that the cost of the tickets cannot be reduced at source for they are already pared to the bone but everyone attending this year felt that the whole event was well worth the money.
Gary Crosby is still out and about with his display tent and caravan and a very good job he does in promoting the Regiment and especially WFR/WFRA. In addition, our standard bearer, Phil Twells, has also been prominent at many events and funerals and we offer our grateful thanks to both Gary and Phil. We are now looking forward to the AGM in October when we hope to meet up with
our friends from many other Branches, especially those from the Worcestershire area whom we don’t see too often.
Mansfield Branch
by Keith Kenworthy
On 25th June 2014, Mansfield Branch WFRA presented the sword of Lieutenant Louis (Lou) Edward Flint MC to Mansfield District Council for display in the anteroom leading to the Council Chamber. Since Lou had been a Local Authority Councillor, it was deemed appropriate that his sword should find a lasting home with the Council which currently covers the area of his old Urban Council.
The citation above the sword reads:
Lt Louis Edward Flint MC
Louis (Lou) Flint was a student, a soldier,
a sportsman, a servant of the community and a local businessman.
He was born in 1895 at Ripley, Derbyshire and was the oldest of four brothers. He attended Reading University where he was the football vice-captain. He volunteered
for service in The Great War and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 11th Battalion The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment) on 9th April 1915.
Whilst serving in 17th (Welbeck Rangers) Battalion of the Regiment, he was wounded when attacking the German line at Givenchy
in the Pas de Calais, France, on 1st August 1916. It is believed that he was awarded the Military Cross for his conduct in this attack. His award was gazetted on 1st January 1917 but the citation for the award has not come to light.
He was promoted to Lieutenant on 1st July 1917 and is shown on the roll of the 3rd Battalion. He was discharged on 14th April 1919. His medals (the Military Cross, 1914/15 Star, War Medal and Victory Medal) are held in the Regimental Archive.
Following the war he played cricket for Derbyshire in the 1919 and 1920 seasons as
a right arm medium fast bowler and a left hand bat. His civilian occupation was as a structural engineer and works manager with Flint & Bates of Wharf Road, Mansfield. He was elected a Councillor for Mansfield Woodhouse Urban District Council and subsequently became Chairman of that Authority in 1942. He was Chairman of the Nottinghamshire Association of Urban Councils and Vice Chairman of Forest Town British Legion Branch. From 1954 until his death in 1958, he was President of the Mansfield Branch of The Sherwood Foresters Association.
B Cooper, D Topliss, R Huntington, N Davidson, J Collier, D Gee, B Talbot, K Shaw, K Kenworthy
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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