EAST MIDLANDS BRANCH

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS

 

 

 

 N E W S L E T T E R  - DECEMBER  2011

 

 

 

NMBVA

The National Malaya & Borneo veterans Association have invited any member of the EM Branch to their Christmas Buffet that will take place at the Groby Ex-servicemen’s Club on Tuesday 13th December 2011 commencing at 7.30pm.  If any member wishes to attend please either email me or give me a ring so that catering arrangements can be finalized at their end.  To date we have four members attending.

 

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Branch Dinner  The next formal dinner of the branch will be on Saturday 25th February 2012. As normal the meal will consist of a Starter, Main Course, Dessert , Cheese & Biscuits followed by coffee & after dinner mints with Port for the loyal toasts.  The venue will be the Stoneycroft Hotel on Elmfield Road (off London Road). We have a guest speaker who will no doubt have a good  interjection of humor. Costs as always will be kept to a minimum. Timings and final costs TBC.  

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Branch at the CENOTAPH LONDON

 

Five members of the branch attended the Cenotaph at Whitehall London on Sunday 13th November 2011.  The day was extremely hot for that time of year and Blazers were worn without top coats.  For the very first time cameras were allowed at the rear of Horse Guards Parade (this was on the red button of your TV) where a member of the Royal Family other than the Queen or Prince Phillip take a second  salute of the marching veterans, this year it was Prince Charles.  Although the waiting time seems to get longer & longer each year the parade was as always a very humble and moving experience.  We hope to attract more from the branch next year.  Our members were accommodated at the Victory Services Club (Marble Arch) which was exceptional value at £40pp including a full English breakfast.  Membership of the VSC is excellent value at £20 per annum.

 

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PUBLICITY & RECRUITMENT OFFICER

 

The east midlands branch has a vacancy for a Publicity & Recruitment Officer within the committee.  Mr Ronnie Williams has resigned this position due to ill health and the ill health of his wife Yvonne.  Our chairman has sent a letter of thanks to Ronnie for his hard work as Publicity Officer over many years.  Any member wishing to apply for this position please informs the secretary either by email, fax or telephone.
 

All OUR YESTERDAYS
 

I received this email from John Reid who has suggested that as a branch we “Gift Aid” our subscriptions hereby gaining more  income into the branch.  This has now been taken up by the branch chairman who is consulting RHQ.  I will inform you the entire outcome in the next newsletter.  John Reid also gave a short background to his career which you may find interesting.  Any member who wishes to email/write a short résumé of their experiences please send them to me. 

 

 

Here goes with John Reid (16.5.38)  
I served in the RAMC as a National Serviceman between 1959 & 1961.
After Basic Training, I served at BMH Bovington, Hostert (it served HQ Rhine Army) and Hanover. I was promoted to Sergeant from Private as soon as I arrived in Germany.
It was a marvelous period in my life and thoroughly enjoyable. So much so that I joined a TA Gunner Regt for a short time before my then employer invited me to transfer to Head Office in Berlin.
I remember vividly taking a military train from Hanover to Berlin to see a QARANC friend for Easter 1961 and travelling together in a military coach, in uniform, through the Brandenburg Gate. Three months or so later, the Wall was in place! My wife & I have been back to Berlin since the Wall came down. It is so very different now.
In my study, I treasure two mementos of National Service. One is a set of two photographs, one of me with a fellow pharmacist at Bovington on the occasion of my 22nd birthday and the other when we met again 43 years later, thanks to our being Freemasons.

The other is a cartoon of me hanging up my uniform, drawn by the RAPC Sergeant on the occasion of my farewell party, bearing the caption 'you can hang it up but you can't forget it'.
With every good wish, John Reid.

 

ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ

FOE 2011/2012

The FOE for 2012 is attached as u/m.

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MEDAL MOUNTING

In the last newsletter the secretary informed members that medal mounting (or swing mounting) could be done through the military tailor at £5 per medal.  I have now found a site on the internet that will mount medals for £4 per medal both large and miniature.  Go to messdress.com

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Message From RHQ
 

As part of the guidance of the charity and Articles of Association ‘Business’ or ‘Any other Business’ should not be used on an agenda at all. If there are matters to be discussed at a meeting then all those attending must have been given advance notice of the topics planned for discussion by sending the agenda out. This is so those attending have time to research, and study the topics and have had time to consider their input. Committees should never come to a meeting ‘Cold’ i.e. with no prior knowledge of the agenda. We are also required to close the agenda when it is sent out and nothing else can be added. We no longer permit AOB at any meetings. If there is genuinely something that the chairman wishes to impart to the members and needs to be done at that specific time as a one off then it can be incorporated into ‘Closing Remarks’ (but cannot be minuted until the next meeting when it should then appear as an agenda item).

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More details and information on all the events in this Newsletter are available from: The Secretary:  Kenneth Roberts TA Centre  Brentwood Road
Leicester LE2 6AE
Day 0116  2703342  Mob 07952 231844
Office 0115 957 3678  01162701572
 sirkenneth.tac@hotmail.co.uk

As promised here is the 1st draft of the FOE for 2012.

Jan: 6th Committee Meeting
26th Quiz night & Social LSSC
Feb: 3-6 RAMC reunited Coventry
10th Committee Meeting
23rd Quiz night & Social LSSC
Mar: 2nd Committee Meeting
15th Management Committee Meeting
29th Quiz night & Social LSSC
31st Clocks go Forward
Apr: 6th  Committee Meeting
6th Good Friday
7th Turning of the Pages Westminster Abbey
9th Easter Monday
14th RAMC Charities AGM Camberley
22nd Luncheon Venue TBC
26th Quiz night & Social LSSC
May: 4th Committee Meeting
5/7 Bank Holiday W/E
16th RAMC Assn AGM National Arboretum
31st Committee Meeting
Jun: 1st Committee Meeting
3/4 Bank Holiday W/E
5th Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday
22/24 RAMC Corps W/e & Church Service
28th Quiz night & Social LSSC
Jul: 6th Committee Meeting
7th Turning of the Pages Westminster Abbey 28th Quiz night & Social LSSC
Aug: 3rd Committee Meeting
18th Formal Dinner Evening
25/27 Bank Holiday W/E
30th Quiz night & Social LSSC
Sep: 7th Committee Meeting
27th Quiz night & Social LSSC
Oct: 5th Committee Meeting
12th Visit to Denby Potteries
19th Assn Man Ctte Mtg & Retd Offs Lunch
25th Quiz night & Social LSSC
28th Clocks go Back
Nov: 2nd Committee Meeting
3rd RBL Festival of Remembrance (Prov)
8th Field of Remembrance
11th Remembrance Day
29th Quiz night & Social LSSC
Dec: 7th Committee Meeting
14th Branch Christmas Social

 

RBL FESTIVAL OF REMEMBRANCE

 

 The new venue for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance took place at the Leicester Cathedral on Saturday 5th November 2011.  The main musical direction was the Sid Lawrence Orchestra who was very, very well received by those who attended.  Unfortunately the venue itself left a lot to be desired, this was due to cramped seating, seating with no view and no preference for the disabled. There were no refreshments during the long interval, and due to the dignitaries arriving late the whole evening ran late. The “muster” and the invited dignitaries which numbered far more than paying guests had the best seats within the Cathedral. Many have made their feelings known and at the next meeting of the RBL and veterans organizations this will no doubt be a feisty encounter.  The next meeting is in February 2012 and I will report back then.

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