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We have 22 Annual members and 23 Life members
and between 16 and 20 are able to attend meetings which are held twice a
month. Our first meeting of the year was on 17 February 2009 and it was very
nice to catch up on the members’ news of their Christmas and New Year.
Our AGM was in March and the same committee
was voted on for another year. Also in March, we played a game of
“housey-housey” or Bingo which was very amusing and the sale of tickets
added quite a bit to branch funds.
Then it was the Grand Reunion. The original
number booked into the Rembrandt Hotel had increased somewhat and a few
members were accommodated at other hotels in Blackpool. Congratulations must
be sent to all at HQ for the superb organisation. All delegates enjoyed
themselves and it was great to meet up with old friends and to hear their
news. We were not successful in our Lottery Grant bid but, despite this
disappointment, everyone enjoyed themselves.
Back home and after settling down, we met in
early April. Wendy McEvitt came along to demonstrate making butterflies
using Sugar Craft. After the demonstration, Wendy presented members with a
completed butterfly on a cup cake to take home. They were lovely to look
at….. and to eat. Later in April, Mr. R. Harris gave an extremely
interesting talk on Tyneham and the Slapton Sands disaster during World War
II. He explained why residents had been moved away from their homes to make
room for troop manoeuvres.
During May we held a Bring and Buy and were
able to make more money to add to Branch funds. We held our Summer Lunch on
10 June (instead of a coach outing which proved too expensive). Those
attending enjoyed themselves.
The last function for this report is our
march in the Veterans Parade on Sunday 14th
June. This is the start of Weymouth’s Veterans Week and thousands of
marchers and spectators were there. We had a small contingent marching with
other Army organisations. The Royal Navy, the RAF and civilian organisations
were also be marching The Americans brought their WWII vehicles and followed
the parade along the seafront, parking up by the Pavilion. Children and
their parents were thrilled to see these jeeps, trucks and motorbikes. The
weather was kind to us and we had a slight breeze to keep us cool. There
seemed to be a greater number marching and also more standard bearers than
usual – we had 41 standard bearers in the Army Division and by all accounts
it looked great.
On parade at Weymouth.
Photograph courtesy of
Jackie Naysmith, Bristol Branch
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