Future Branch, Local and Corps Events

In this edition are details of the range of events listed below. Please click here to make your booking.

• Visit to Denbies Wine Estate               Saturday 11th September
• Reading Branch Dinner                        Sat 2nd  October
• Autumn Lunch at the Golf Club            Sun 24th October
• Remembrance Ceremonies                   11th & 14th November
• Lunch at the Pub                               Wed 1st December
• Christmas Lunch at Catering School       Tue 14th December
• Corps Carol Service                            Mon 20th December

The date of the Denbies visit has been brought forward. Details are overleaf and members with e-mail have already been notified. Please make your bookings without delay. We are sorry that the Rhythm & Blues Evening scheduled for November has had to be postponed as our virtuoso instrumentalist, Bob Webb, has to go into hospital for an operation. Our best wishes go to him for a speedy recovery.

 Welcome to new members

We are delighted to welcome Janet Endean as a life member in her own right.

We also give a warm welcome to WO1 Andy Lothian, the newly arrived RSM of 261 Signal Squadron.

Membership Badges

Lapel badges for life members and associate members are now available free of charge. Please see below or page 6 in the hard copy newsletter.

 Congratulations

Many members, while watching the D-Day 60th Anniversary Commemoration on television on Sunday 6th June, no doubt spotted the immaculate figure of GSM Joe Fairbairn MBE who appeared on several occasions throughout the day. For Joe it was the culmination of months of hard work helping to organise the veterans events from HQ Aldershot Garrison, plus two visits to Normandy to confirm all the arrangements.

 Forthcoming Branch Events

 VISIT AND GUIDED TOUR OF DENBIES WINE ESTATE
London Road, Dorking

Saturday 11^th September (New Date) Meet at 10 – 10.15 am

Britain’s largest vineyard occupies 265 acres in the beautiful Mole Valley on the Surrey North Downs and accounts for over 10% of the plantings in the UK; resulting in about 400,000 bottles of fine wine per year, with many medal winning varieties.  Wine growing here dates back to Roman times.

We meet for coffee at 10 -10.15 am in the indoor garden conservatory and then assemble for our group tour at 10.45 am. This begins with short videos, encapsulating the processes of vine growing and the producing of fine wine.  This is followed by a trip aboard an indoor ‘people mover’ train, taking us through every stage of the working winery.  The journey finishes in the cellars, where visitors are treated to a tasting of selected Denbies wines.

After the tour, a group booking has been made for lunch in the indoor garden conservatory and you can visit the well-stocked wine and gift shop.  In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity, under individual arrangements, to see the vines at close hand and the panoramic views on a train tour round the vineyard.

The cost per head for the group visit including entrance fee and morning tour will be £7.50. Please and return Annex A of the hardcopy newsletter to Peter Sharpe by Wednesday 1st September with your cheque made out to ‘Royal Signals Association, Aldershot Branch’ or click here to make your booking with Peter Sharpe. A map showing how to get to Denbies is at Annex D.

 AUTUMN LUNCH AT THE ALDERSHOT ARMY GOLF CLUB

Sunday 24th October  12.30 for 1 pm

Those who regularly attend our annual Autumn Lunch always express enthusiasm for the very pleasing atmosphere of the Army Golf Club with its high quality menu, so we have chosen to hold our Autumn Lunch here again.

There will, as usual, be a three-course menu, the main course being a Curry, but special diets will be catered for if requested.  The starter will be on the table, to enable us to sit down and enjoy the first course straight away.  Cost of the lunch will be £13.50, excluding drinks to be ordered individually.

Please and return Annex B of the hardcopy newsletter to Peter Sharpe by Friday 8^th October with your cheque made out to ‘Royal Signals Association, Aldershot Branch’ or click here to make your booking with Peter Sharpe.

 LUNCH AT THE PUB    The Bat and Ball, Farnham

The first Pub lunch at the ‘Bat and Ball’ in Farnham on 26th May, held primarily for Branch Widows (Associate members) to meet old friends and Branch members, was enjoyed by all those who attended.  It was agreed we should arrange another nearer to Christmas.

The next Pub Lunch will be on Wednesday 1st December 2004. We hope to see as many as possible of our Associate members together with Branch members at the ‘Bat and Ball’ in Farnham starting at 12.15.pm.

Everyone wishing to join us should inform Mary Pagan or Ian Ronald by 24th November. Will associate members please tell Mary or Ian if transport is needed.

 CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON AT THE ARMY SCHOOL OF CATERING

Tuesday 14th December

Drafting this Newsletter in the balmy heat of an August day, we have to come to grips with the fact that Christmas is but 4 months away.  So, we are again planning our pre-seasonal get-together, which we hope will be a repetition of the last two year’s highly successful occasions at the Army School of Catering, St Omer Barracks, Aldershot.

This year, we have been able to book Tuesday 14 December for the event, so we hope as many of you as possible will be able to come along on that day.

The cost will be £12 per head, to include full Christmas lunch, pre-lunch drinks and a glass of wine during the meal.

Please and return Annex C of the hardcopy newsletter to Peter Sharpe by Friday 24^th November with your cheque made out to ‘Royal Signals Association, Aldershot Branch’ or click here to make your booking with Peter Sharpe. We are limited to 34 places so book early!

 REMEMBRANCE DAY CEREMONIES

The Branch will again be represented at Remembrance Day events in the local area, parading our standard and laying wreaths.

Remembrance Sunday:  14th November

We shall participate in the service and ceremony at the Royal Garrison Church in Aldershot on Sunday 14^th November. This attracts a large congregation from units in the garrison and those attending are advised to be seated in the church by 10.30 am. RMP will direct people to the ample car parks and there is normally a shuttle bus from there up to the church.

Afternote. We have been saddened to learn of the death of Leslie Frost, local and national chairman of the Normandy Veterans Association, shortly after he participated in the D-Day Commemoration.  With the advancing years of the veterans, this may be the last year of the Brookwood ceremony in its present form.

 Corps and Other Branch Events

Reading Branch Dinner

We are pleased to advertise the Reading Branch 34^th Annual Reunion Dinner to be held on 2^nd October.  After 18 years in the Sea Cadets hall, this event is now to be held in the prestigious Sonning Golf Club so we can expect it to be even better than in the past.  The price is £22 per head for a four-course meal including wine.  The Master of Signals and Lady Cowan will be the principal guests.  Those wishing to attend, please contact our secretary, Jane Knight, if you already have her contact details, or direct to Alan Foot, Reading Branch Administrator, on alanfoot@globalnet.co.uk

Corps Carol Service

The Corps Carol service will be held as usual at the Corps Church, St Stephen with St John, Rochester Row, London, on Monday 20th December, beginning at 6pm.  The usual gathering for Sherry and Mince pies at the Church Hall will follow the service.

 Recent Branch Events

DEDICATION OF NEW BRANCH STANDARD

Sunday 18^th April was a very significant day in the history of the branch for this was when the old standard, dating back to the 1950s, was laid up and the new branch standard dedicated in the splendid setting of the Royal Garrison Church of All Saints in Aldershot.

After this uplifting service of dedication, members and guests adjourned to the Garrison WOs and Sergeants Mess for a fine curry lunch. At the end of lunch Maj Gen Boyle presented the Association’s Honour Badge to our Branch Welfare Representative, Lt Col Ian Ronald OBE as recognition of 10 years outstanding service to the Branch. Finally, at the end of a successful and historic event, members retired to the ante-room for the branch Annual General Meeting.

At the AGM we were honoured by the presence of General Tony Boyle and Anne and naturally we had to be on our best behaviour! The main item on the agenda was the election of the new committee during which compliments were paid to Jimmy Ward who was standing down, and to RSM Kevin Smith who had left 261 Signal Squadron on commissioning. His replacement, RSM Andy Lothian, and Chris Endean were warmly welcomed as new members of the committee.

TENTH ANNUAL QUIZ NIGHT

Our Quiz Night goes from strength to strength. This year, on Thursday 20^th May, we returned to the Garrison Sergeants Mess which GSM Joe Fairbairn kindly opened to all ranks. We are grateful to him and also to 251 Signal Squadron who provided the PA equipment.

The prospects of moderately priced beer, general camaraderie and earnest competition attracted 23 teams from garrison units, neighbouring RSA branches and other friends new and old. Including our hard working committee, there was a total attendance of over 100.  Neville Lyons, once again presiding as our genial quiz master, tested our mental agility with original and interesting questions.  The cryptically-clued anagrams, thrown in for good measure, produced some remarkably good results from all teams.  Watch out for next years repeat event!

Rapt attention to the guide

We were fortunate to have an excellent guide, who gave us, during our tour, a well-informed account of Painshill, including the imaginative development by its founder in the 19^th century, its post-war decay and its subsequent inspired restoration just a few years ago.  After the tour, we were able to relax over some lunch-time refreshment in the grounds of Painshill.  For those unable to make it on the day, definitely worth a visit!

SOVEREIGNS PARADE DRESS REHEARSAL AND KNELLER HALL CONCERT

Branch members had the opportunity, for the third year running, of the double whammy of the Commandant’s Parade at Sandhurst in the morning and the season’s final Kneller Hall military band concert in the evening, with two picnics thrown in for good measure.  It did not rain on our parade this year despite tales of thunder, lightning and flash floods up and down the land.

At Sandhurst we were again pleased to be able to organise tickets for Southampton, Reading and West London branches so that, with our own members, there was a party over 80 strong.  While we were able to revel in the hot sunny weather, a few cadets succumbed to the heat and the Ghurka stretcher bearers were several times called upon.  At picnic time we greatly enjoyed meeting once again our friends from neighbouring branches.

At Kneller Hall in the evening, our group of 20 members enjoyed excellent seats through the good offices of our treasurer and season ticket holder, Peter Sharpe.  With four full regimental bands on the platform we were treated to a superb concert, highlighting as usual the professionalism of the musicians and trainee bandmasters of the Corps of Army Music.  And, yes, the weather was again on our side, the stillness of a fine and warm summer evening, providing a glorious backdrop to the whole occasion.

 Royal Signals Association Badges

RSA badges are now available to all life members and associate members.  A stock of these badges, suitable for fastening into jacket button-holes, is now held by our Membership Secretary, Mike Wilson. You can collect your badge at any future branch event or one can be mailed to you if you contact Mike Wilson. We strongly encourage members to claim their badge and to wear it as publicity for the Corps.

 In Memoriam

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Beattie

With the death of Bruce Beattie on 19^th April 2004, the Corps lost one of its most dedicated sons and our branch one of its most loyal members. We extend our sincere sympathy to Jeanne, his daughters Elisabeth and Sarah and close members of the family.

Born at Crowborough in 1921 as the son of a sergeant in the newly formed Royal Signals, Bruce was a Corps man through and through.  He enlisted as a Boy aged 15 in 1936 and thereafter his career reads like a history of the turbulent years of the 20^th century.

In no way did that signify lack of activity because he saw service in Kenya and Berlin, where he commanded the Berlin Signal Squadron for three years from 1961.  On promotion to lieutenant colonel he was given command of 61^st Signal Regiment based in Edinburgh where he was able to pursue some of his favourite pastimes of golf and Scottish country dancing. At the end of his regular army career he served on as an RO and then continued as a part-time volunteer at RHQ Royal Signals when it was based in London. Finally, after almost 60 years service to the Corps, he did decide to enjoy his retirement with Jeanne, whom he had married in 1980.

Bruce is remembered as a fine officer and good friend. During his time at RHQ he regularly led the officer’s contingent on the Annual Reunion parade, always impeccably turned out. In the branch we looked forward to his appearances, with Jeanne, at lunches and other events and were so pleased when he initially recovered somewhat from his severe stroke in the year 2000.  However, he never regained full good health and in his last years took up residence in the Royal Star and Garter Home at Richmond where he was lovingly supported by Jeanne every day.

We were privileged as a branch to assist in affording Bruce full military honours at his funeral on 4^th May 2004. We were grateful for the willing help given in this by South London Branch and the Royal Signals Band.

Tailpiece

Nostalgia Isn’t What it Used to Be

With acknowledgements to a Guildford U3A member

According to today’s regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, or even maybe the early 70’s probably shouldn’t have survived. Our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paint.  We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets.  When we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.  We would ride in cars with no seatbelts, air bags or MOT. Our dads could drive at over 70mph, though few had a car capable.  We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.  We ate cakes, bread with real butter, and drank Tizer with sugar in it, but we were never overweight, because we were always outside playing.  We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and nobody actually died.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill only to find out we forgot the brakes.  After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. The sun always shone during the school summer holidays.  We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back in time for tea, and our parents wouldn’t worry. No one was able to reach us all day.  You were lucky to have a phone at home and there was no such thing as a mobile. We didn’t have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video game at all, OK maybe an odd Atari game system but no 99 channels on cable, no satellite dishes, video taped movies, DVD’s, CD’s, surround sound, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms.

We had friends! We went outside and found them.  We walked to school unaccompanied. We played football, cricket, tag and hide and seek.  We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us.  Remember accidents?  We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it. Teachers were allowed to hit us and if we told our parents we would get hit again.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we didn’t put out very many eyes.  We rode bikes, caught the bus or walked to a friend’s home on our own.  Not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Some students weren’t as smart as others, so they failed an exam and were held back to repeat the same exam.  Pass marks weren’t lowered to improve the success rate.  Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.  The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of.  They actually sided with the law. We were afraid of policemen.

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.  And you’re one of them! Congratulations!