Page 149 - Mercian Eagle 2014

WFRA Reunion. Bandleader of Bewdley Band
Regiment will be on parade with Pte Derby XXX. The Band of The Royal Logistics Corps will accompany the Service and the many VIPs include The Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, The Bishop of Worcester, MPs, Mayors of Boroughs and Towns, local councillors
WWI Commemoration. Worcester Branch. L to R Tony Grubb, Maurice Smith
and, of course, Veterans and members of the public. After the ceremonies, visitors will be able to tour the Display Area where many local organisations, including the regimental Museum, will have stalls: there will even be a man with a pig roast!
Worksop Branch
by Mark Butcher
After its re-birth in early 2013, the Worksop Branch has gone from strength to strength over the last year. A slow but steady trickle of new members has bolstered the branch strength and attendance at meetings and events has been consistently strong. We held our AGM in March, with one addition to the Committee being Brig Wilkinson who joined us during the year and who happily agreed to take on the role of Vice-President. The Branch now boasts two Brigadiers (Brig Browne is President) and both have been very active and supportive in their roles. The Branch has been very busy over the last year and members have been full
of ideas for promoting the Branch profile and keeping it exciting enough for new members to stay. We now have our own website (www.worksopbranchwfra.co.uk) where we can show what we are about and encourage new members to join.
In October 2013, we hosted Chesterfield Branch WFRA for a games night. This
was a great success, with one hiccup being that Chesterfield won and took
away the trophy. In October this year, we are visiting Chesterfield Branch to try and win the trophy back. It is hoped that this
will become an annual event, with other Branches joining in. We had a good turn out from members on Remembrance Sunday Parade where Stuart Jepson carried our Standard. The escort was provided by Bill Bailey and Tony Jones, with a good number of other members on parade. The Branch concluded the day as usual with dinner for members and families at a local pub. In December, members again sat down with their families to enjoy a Christmas dinner.
In 2014, we have continued to hold our meetings every two months and, in
Worksop Branch AGM. Rear row L to R: Andy Ritchie, Ian Middleton, Rob Bowskill, Paul Hanson, Jimmy Bryce, Bill Bailey, Wayne Smith, Stephen Jones. Front row L to R: Stuart Gullen, Mark Butcher, Brig Wilkinson, Brig Browne, Tim Hallam, Tony Jones, Stuart Jepson
between, have participated in a number of events. These included days out walking,
a drinks’ night for members and families, a very successful day’s clay pigeon shooting and a visit to the Wollaton Armed Forces day. The 3WFR Colours returned to Newark on 13th July 2013 and the Branch was particularly well represented. We were also strongly turned out for the Crich Pilgrimage in July, where a handful of the guys stayed over in Crich the night before for preparatory drinks (before and after photos are available on our website).
The pace does not slow down for the rest of 2014 and we have plans for a day’s archery (under instruction from our old Sgt Maj Dave Swan), a trip to Duxford Military Museum, our games night with Chesterfield Branch, Remembrance Sunday Parade and Christmas dinner in early December. Some of the guys will no doubt be out and about in between on activities such as walking and bike riding, with the odd evening’s beer thrown in.
So it’s “onwards and upwards” at Worksop Branch with plenty going on to keep the lads entertained. It has been particularly satisfying to see the Branch spirit grow over the last year and all the lads deserve thanks for their enthusiasm and hard work in making this a fun organisation to be part of.
Worksop Branch Clay Pigeon shooting.
L to R: Stephen Jones, Wayne Smith, Dave Swan, Jimmy Bryce, Bill Bailey, Stuart Jepson, Mark Butcher, Tony Jones
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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