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We hold our meetings in the hall of the Bexhill
Red Cross Centre and the speaker in June was one of the Red Cross volunteers. He
has always been very supportive of us as have we, in turn, been of him and his
colleagues. Those members who are able to attend number about 25 at most and
the hall, and its furniture, just about accommodates us. Very importantly, the
hall has a good kitchen with a generous supply of crockery and teapots, backed
up by willing helpers from the membership. We are known by some of the new
members as the ‘friendly branch’ and we are proud of the name. A friendly
smile, a listening ear and a warm approach are all that it costs us, plus
remembering those three things.
We have also lost a few members due to illness
and age. We miss them and try to keep in contact.
The Branch has some dedicated officers and a
very good committee. We have collected items for parcels to our soldiers
overseas. We are generous with our raffle prizes and giving items for the sales
table. We have already booked our Christmas lunch and hope we have a good
summer before we reach the festive season. Next month we have our strawberry
tea, so it can be seen that our tummies rule our heads. Oh and we have written
to the Prime Minister about the Gurkhas and received a reply from the Direct
Communications Unit at 10 Downing Street. All others who have written on the
same subject will have received the same word-for-word reply – that we already
know having seen some of them.
Thank you Major Freebairn for publication of the
paintings by the late Stella Schmolle on the front and back covers of Lioness
1/2008. I can personally identify with ‘Recruits on the Barrack Square, ATS
No 7 Training Centre, Guildford’ and ‘Cordwallis MT Training Centre, Camberley
1943’ although I was there a year later. I remember collecting vehicles from
and parking them back on that football field, and leaving them with their taps
in the open position to drain the water tanks to avoid them freezing overnight
(it was a cold autumn and winter). But any learning about engines was done in
the classroom or at the vehicle workshop, where we wore trousered overalls and
clogs with leather uppers and steel tipped wooden soles and heels which gave off
sparks as we walked on a hard surface. I worried about walking past the petrol
pump! In the Barrack square painting I think that the group on the left-hand
side is marching on-the-spot as their knees are lifted so high and I can almost
hear the male corporal instructor barking out “Come on girls, give it some
swagger, like the Guards”. The girls walking one behind the other out of the
frame look so weary that it brought back memories of how I often felt after a
spell on the barrack square. Stella’s paintings were so true to life, they
spoke volumes and I think that a lot of us will try to get to the Imperial War
Museum to see the rest.
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